Strootman: I want to repay the fans on the pitch

Never short of support throughout his long period on the sidelines, now Kevin Strootman intends on repaying the faith of fans, team-mates and club with his performances on the pitch.

"It's incredible, normally if a player at a club doesn't play for two years everyone says you have to sell him," the Dutch midfielder told Roma Radio on Tuesday. "I've been constantly supported here and I want to give them something in return, I want to play.

“I have to thank everyone – the coaches, the club, the directors and also my team-mates who have been a part of it all. I'm speechless, I intend on showing my gratitude on the pitch."

The Giallorossi No.6 also revealed what was going through his mind when Luciano Spalletti declared in his pre-match press conference that Strootman would start the contest at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.

"I thought about everything,” he said. “It was a long day spent in the hotel and I didn't sleep well in the evening either.

“Lots of things came into my mind – my knee, my legs, everything. I've been out for so long and usually the gaffer doesn't tell you if you're playing or not. This time he said it the day before and I felt a bit nervous, especially on the pitch for the first five minutes. Nevertheless, I wanted to play and win."

Were you ready for the first kick from an opponent?

"Yes, but it was the same in training. During the first week when I was back everyone was going soft, so I told the group that they have to play normally with me otherwise I'll never be ready to play. Obviously a match is different to training. I'm pleased – I didn't feel any pain in my knee during the match, my legs are feeling good and, most importantly, we got the three points."

Did you feel that you were going to win?

"We didn't play well in the first half but created bags of opportunities. Even after they went into the lead at 2-1, we immediately got the ball back and began to play in order to try to get the second and third goal. Ultimately it was a good match for the fans but less so for us. We conceded twice and at this level you shouldn't be conceding goals like this. But the important thing is we won."

Everyone has stressed the strength of your character and the fans respect you for this as well.

"People have always said that about me, even before I used to play. Just like all other footballers, I want to win. Maybe others leave it up to their feet to do the talking but I want to send a message to the team. I do my job and I want to win."

We've got the chance to win on Sunday and wait for Napoli for respond.

"Our objective is to win the next two games and the first one coming up against Chievo Verona won't be easy. Right now everyone wants to win and give it their all. Nevertheless, we want to get the three points and then we'll watch Napoli, which won't be easy. We can't change anything – we have to win, pick up the three points and watch Napoli play."

This summer will be a bit different for you. Are you looking forward to having a great season next year?

"I want to be with the team throughout. I haven't been able to prepare with my team-mates for the past two years. I want to be ready from the start – that's my aim. As I said before, however, it's better to concentrate on the remaining two games and then we'll see what happens, who stays and who moves on. Let's only focus on the games in front of us."

Do you reckon you could play until you're 40 like Francesco Totti is doing right now?

"I mentioned this yesterday as well: It's incredible and I'm speechless. He's been really important for us in recent matches. He's our skipper and the opposition gets nervous when he comes on because he can change games. Edin Dzeko also had a big impact off the bench yesterday, changing the match with a great assist. They are both great players. It's always a pleasure to play with Il Capitano."

You're made of tough stuff but Spalletti isn't exactly a pushover. How do you find things under him? He seems to demand even more of you during training than in matches.

"That's the way it has to be – the match is the easy part in some respects while in training you have to give everything. Spalletti has changed a lot here but I don't want to compare him with Rudi Garcia because he did some good things too. Spalletti has added something, our aim is to win matches and he does everything to achieve that. He changed tactics midway through the game yesterday, although if we start well and stay at that level there wouldn't even be the need to change. He's doing a good job and we're attuned to how he works."