Nigerian-born Swindon Town striker, Jonathan Obika has prioritised securing Swindon Town’s survival in League One this season, ahead of a resolution to the uncertainty over his future at the club.
Obika is out of contract at the end of the season, and so he can leave the County Ground on a free transfer this summer. The 2016/2017 campaign has been a frustrating one for Obika so far due to a succession of injuries, with the 1-0 defeat at Bury over the weekend marking just the 26-year-old’s 16th appearance in Town’s 39 games so far.
To that end, the former Tottenham Hotspurs’ man has put his main focus on returning to full fitness and would instead leave any off-the-field matters to other parties. Town gave Obika his big break when they signed him from Spurs in the summer of 2014, following no fewer than 11 loan spells away from White Hart Lane, and he would give his all to repay a debt of gratitude for the remainder of the season no matter what the future holds.
“It’s with the club and the agent sorting it out. I said I need to get back fit and get going, that’s what’s been on my mind,” said Obika. He added, “No (it’s not a distraction), I have always been committed and equally with self-pride, you want to do well for the team and for the team-mates you have been with throughout the season, and definitely I owe it to the managers.
“I have always enjoyed my time at the club, it’s a club that gave me my opportunity. It’s not really for me to think of now, because we are in this situation and personally, I need to get firing and we need to lift the team.
The team is the most important thing at the moment, and we need to lift the club to where they deserve to be.” Obika’s latest comeback against the Shakers came after five weeks out with a hamstring problem, and he believes his frequent absences this term have been as a result of rushing his return to fitness.
Having to watch his teammates struggle from the sidelines has not been easy, but Obika hopes a clean bill of health between now and the end of season will help him to turn around Town’s fortunes.
“It was very good just to be out there. Of course the result put a downer on things, but now I’ve got those minutes, it’s now about thinking of the team and getting back to winning ways,” said Obika.
