Afobe: I want to show I’m still one of the best strikers in the Championship

Benik Afobe said he has unfinished business at Millwall and he is ready to show he is among the best strikers in the Championship.

Afobe returned to the Den a week ago after completing a season-long loan from rivals Stoke City which reunited him with manager Gary Rowett.

The 28-year-old is not new to life in the Championship having previously played for Bolton Wanderers, Reading and Bristol City.

Back in the 2012-13 season, the DR Congo international played five matches for Millwall while on loan from Arsenal and he is ready to help the Lions’ cause in the upcoming campaign.

Afobe told the South London Press: “I feel like I’ve got unfinished business. I feel like the fans didn’t get the true me. It’s not about me coming here to prove people wrong. It’s about proving people right – the ones who believe in me. I’m doing it for them.

“I’ve got experience now. A lot of things have happened to me, on and off the field, and I’m just hungry to go again.

“Scottie [Malone] is my mate – we have the same agent – and he was telling me how he came here and blossomed again. He started enjoying his football again after a difficult 18 months. I’m the same.

“My daughter passed away and I’ve had injuries…it’s been tough for me. People outside of football don’t see all that stuff. I was near enough depressed, like you would be. But all of that has made me hungrier to show I’m still one of the best strikers in the league.”

Afobe spent last season on loan in the Turkish Super Lig with Trabzonspor, scoring five goals in 28 matches.

Going by the stats, the former Arsenal youngster believes he is still prolific in front of goals after overcoming injuries.

“If anyone does their research on me, I probably had 10 chances and scored five of them,” he added.

“Last season it says I played 28 games – but if you add up all my minutes then I played the equivalent of 11 full matches and scored five goals, in a team that used to win 1-0 and 2-0. We weren’t a prolific side. So I was prolific last season as well. If you go and look at the minutes, I was often only coming on for four or five minutes.

“I’ve had two career-threatening injuries and been on the bench a lot of times. When you come on for 10 minutes and you haven’t had a run of games in you, then people judge ‘oh, he didn’t score here and there’.

“But you have to look at the minutes. Even at Bournemouth in the Premier League, I think I scored six goals in 31 games – but I had 13 starts.

“I feel I’m still prolific and when I get chances I tend to score them. I’m not trying to big myself up too much, but at the same time I believe in myself. I believe I’m still the player I once was.”