Kevin Strootman believes he is “in debt” to the Roma fans, “so I feel compelled to give everything to win”.
The Dutch midfielder missed the best part of two seasons with knee problems, but has made 25 appearances in all competitions so far this term.
“I’ll always thank them [the fans] for the way they supported me,” Strootman told AS Roma Match Program.
Kevin Strootman believes he is “in debt” to the Roma fans, “so I feel compelled to give everything to win”.
The Dutch midfielder missed the best part of two seasons with knee problems, but has made 25 appearances in all competitions so far this term.
“I’ll always thank them [the fans] for the way they supported me,” Strootman told AS Roma Match Program.
“Even when I came back for a while I was playing injured. I’ve said several times that I’m in debt to them for that, so I feel compelled to give everything to give them something, to win.
“We want to get to the end in every competition and win a trophy. We’re winning games and we have to continue like this.
“Even last year though there was a period where we were winning at home, but then in the end we finished third. We don’t want that to happen this year.
“It’s true that we haven’t conceded in five of our last seven games, and the credit goes to the whole team, not just the defence.
“We do want to score more goals, to entertain the fans, but at the same time a 1-0 win is still worth three points.
“We’re aware that we haven’t won anything yet, and we have to improve in a lot of areas. I don’t know what we’re missing to win something, but we’ll find it step-by-step, game-by-game.
"An assessment of my Roma career? I haven't played enough, now I'm physically OK and I want to keep giving my contribution to this team.
"Ask that question at the end of the season, when maybe we've won something."
The Giallorossi are also competing in the Coppa Italia and the Europa League, and Strootman is aiming to win those competitions too.
“The Coppa? We must believe we can do it. Even with Cesena it won’t be easy, they have some players who played in Roma-Spezia last year and we all know what happened there.
“The Coppa Italia is very important for us, for the club. We must do everything to win a trophy, but now we head to Sampdoria.
“As for the Europa League, we’re waiting for the two matches with Villarreal. I don’t know them well, I’ve seen a few of their games on TV and they’ve always played well for the past five or 10 years.
“They have fast players and they’re well-drilled, but there will be time to study them.”