Bamber eager for United stay
leedsunited.com 6/5/15
On-loan defender Sol Bamba says he is "desperate" to stay at the club on a permanent basis and believes the makings of a squad challenging for promotion are already in place.
Bamba joined from Palermo in the closing weeks of the January window and soon established himself as a key figure in Neil Redfearn’s side, becoming ever-present after making his debut at Huddersfield.
The 30-year-old proved to be a big hit with the Elland Road faithful in his 19 appearances and hopes that will be where his future lies following the end of his loan deal.
"I’m desperate to come back here. I love the club and the fans have been brilliant," said Bamba.
"I’m like everyone; I have to wait because we don’t know what is going to happen.
"My first priority is to stay here and I wouldn’t say that just to make people happy, I really feel good here.
"My family are settled here so I will give everything to stay here and hopefully we will find something."
Bamba’s arrival coincided with United’s major upturn in form during the early stages of 2015 and four of his first five outings resulted in victory, with three of those also bringing clean sheets.
And the Ivory Coast international has already seen enough in his brief United career so far to suggest that a bright future could be on the horizon.
"I think if we keep the team together, we can fight to get out of this league," he said.
"We saw when we played the best teams in this league, we can compete.
"We have to keep everyone together and it is important for me that the manager stays.
"Obviously, we need the addition of a few players because some departments are missing some players.
"But I think that we’re not far away and we showed that this season. There were a lot of ups and downs but I don’t think we’re far away."
Speaking after Saturday’s final game of the season, a forgettable 0-0 Yorkshire derby draw at home to Rotherham, Bamba admitted he had hoped to end the campaign on a high with three points .
"We wanted to do well for our fans in the last home game of the season," the defender said.
"Overall, I think it was a good performance because the last few results weren’t great. Performance-wise, I think we had done well.
"We’re happy with the clean sheet. With the difficult season we’ve had, I think we’ll take it and we’re happy to finish like that.
"We tried to go forward to score the goals and give something for the fans, but unfortunately it wasn’t to be. We’re happy with the draw."
On-loan defender Sol Bamba says he is "desperate" to stay at the club on a permanent basis and believes the makings of a squad challenging for promotion are already in place.
Bamba joined from Palermo in the closing weeks of the January window and soon established himself as a key figure in Neil Redfearn’s side, becoming ever-present after making his debut at Huddersfield.
The 30-year-old proved to be a big hit with the Elland Road faithful in his 19 appearances and hopes that will be where his future lies following the end of his loan deal.
"I’m desperate to come back here. I love the club and the fans have been brilliant," said Bamba.
"I’m like everyone; I have to wait because we don’t know what is going to happen.
"My first priority is to stay here and I wouldn’t say that just to make people happy, I really feel good here.
"My family are settled here so I will give everything to stay here and hopefully we will find something."
Bamba’s arrival coincided with United’s major upturn in form during the early stages of 2015 and four of his first five outings resulted in victory, with three of those also bringing clean sheets.
And the Ivory Coast international has already seen enough in his brief United career so far to suggest that a bright future could be on the horizon.
"I think if we keep the team together, we can fight to get out of this league," he said.
"We saw when we played the best teams in this league, we can compete.
"We have to keep everyone together and it is important for me that the manager stays.
"Obviously, we need the addition of a few players because some departments are missing some players.
"But I think that we’re not far away and we showed that this season. There were a lot of ups and downs but I don’t think we’re far away."
Speaking after Saturday’s final game of the season, a forgettable 0-0 Yorkshire derby draw at home to Rotherham, Bamba admitted he had hoped to end the campaign on a high with three points .
"We wanted to do well for our fans in the last home game of the season," the defender said.
"Overall, I think it was a good performance because the last few results weren’t great. Performance-wise, I think we had done well.
"We’re happy with the clean sheet. With the difficult season we’ve had, I think we’ll take it and we’re happy to finish like that.
"We tried to go forward to score the goals and give something for the fans, but unfortunately it wasn’t to be. We’re happy with the draw."