Bony's ready to make his mark

12th January
First team

Wilfried Bony is planning to make a big impression in the second half of the season after declaring himself fully fit for Swansea City’s survival scrap.

Bony is in contention for a first Premier League appearance in almost a month when the Swans go to Newcastle United this weekend.

And the influential frontman is determined to play his part from here on in having been frustrated by fitness issues since rejoining the Swans from Manchester City last August.

Bony took a while to get up to speed when he first returned having had no game-time in pre-season.

He then suffered a muscle injury in only his second league start of the campaign which ruled him out for six weeks.

Bony was back in action by mid-November, and looked to be finding something close to his best form before hamstring troubles struck at Everton on December 18.

“I have had some injuries at the wrong time, with the last one coming just when I was going forward,” he said.

“But I am physically fit now and I am mentally strong.

“I am back fit and I hope to stay fit until the end of the season. I want to play the maximum number of games and score the maximum number of goals.

“I have enjoyed being back at Swansea. I am happy here although I am not happy to be in the position we are in. I want the best for the club.”

Bony got 77 minutes under his belt at Wolves in the Emirates FA Cup last Saturday, and will now hope for some action at St James’ Park tomorrow.

The Swans are bottom of the league going into a game against a Newcastle side who are currently six points better off than them.

And Bony admits the trip to Tyneside carries a little extra significance given that Carlos Carvalhal’s men have a chance to make up ground on their opponents.

“When you get a team in the same part of the table as you, it’s very important to win or the gap will be bigger,” he added.

“We need to be careful. We know it will be difficult against Newcastle but we are all positive.

“We have to focus on this game first if we are going to get out of the relegation zone. It’s a very important to win if we can.

“We are in a difficult situation but we don’t think negatively. We know every game is crucial but we need to stick together and try to get as many points as we can in the 17 games we have left.”