Georgios Samaras has insisted that the thought of leaving Man City in the summer never crossed his mind.
Striker vows to fight for place
Georgios Samaras has insisted that the thought of leaving Manchester City in the summer never crossed his mind.
The £6million Greece international was strongly linked with a move away from the club following the arrival of new manager Sven Goran Eriksson.
Eriksson gave Samaras the opportunity to talk to other clubs about a possible switch, with Middlesbrough and his former club Heerenveen interested in his services.
But the 22-year-old was always determined to make a success of his City of Manchester Stadium career and after scoring a last-gasp winner against Norwich in the Carling Cup is hoping for more opportunities.
Personality
He told the Manchester Evening News: "I never had the chance to leave because I am 100 per cent committed to City.
"The rumours you heard were just rumours. I spoke with the board and the manager and knew from the first day that I would stay and must fight for my place.
"It is part of my personality, my soul and my mind never to give up. I believe in myself and I believe that I can be part of this team. I just keep working and never give up."
Samaras insists his recent spell out of the side did not affect him and does not believe he needs to prove himself to anyone.
Confident
He added: "Maybe other players would not have been so confident about taking their chance but personally I am very confident in myself and have kept going, worked hard and focused on my football.
"I am not trying to prove anything, I just want to play games, win games, help myself to improve and help the team. I am just looking forward. I was pleased I played against Norwich and now hope that I get more chances to play.
"I've just been concentrating on my football, I've been training hard, I knew that my chance would come and it was up to me to take it. I'll keep going and keep working hard.
"Other players might worry, but I stay really calm, don't get stressed, play my own game and enjoy it. Whatever happens, I have confidence in myself and I just keep trying."
