Kevin Strootman, Olympique de Marseille's match-winner at Rennes on Friday evening, says he has no intention of leaving the club ranked second on Ligue 1 Conforama.
The Dutchman stepped off the bench in the 82nd minute and two minutes later struck the only goal of the game at Roazhon Park in order to secure rampant Marseille's eighth win in nine league games, strengthening their grip on second in the table.
In and out of the side this season, Strootman was quizzed about his career plans post-match and batted away the questions. He said: "I still have three and a half years left on my contract here. I signed here to stay here and play here, not for anything else."
The former Roma midfielder, 30 next month, had been linked with a move away from OM this month, now that he shares the defensive midfield role with young prospect Boubacar Kamara. Strootman commented: "The most important thing is the team, not my situation. It's always a good feeling to score a goal. The team played very well and I'm not going to say I should be starting games because Boubacar played very well, Sanson and Rongier as well. I only played 10 minutes but I was important to the team."
AVB: 'Watch the other results with a big cigar!'
OM boss André Villas-Boas said: "We were a bit lucky but we perhaps managed to eliminate a direct rival when before the match we said we'd have been happy with a point. The goal was very important for the league. I think that tomorrow we'll be able to watch the other results with a big cigar!"
