Ghana forward, Jordan Ayew says the Black Stars must claim the trophy at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Gabon in order to appease their long-suffering supporters.

Ghana is a powerhouse of African football but its last triumph in the Nations Cup was more than 30 years ago, with Charles Gyamfi’s team triumphing in Libya in 1982.

The current generation of Black Stars players almost ended that long wait for continental glory at the last AFCON in 2015, but they lost on penalties in the final to the Elephants of the Ivory Coast.

Combined with a poor showing at the last World Cup in 2014, Ghanaian fans are disillusioned with their team and Ayew believes only a triumph in Gabon early next year will suffice in winning back their affection.

“I think it’s simple. We the players we know what we have to do. We know that this tournament coming up in six months is very important for we the players, our fans and country. We know what we have to go and do [win the tournament],” the Aston Villa forward was quoted as saying by GHANASoccernet.

“I understand everyone [anger] but in life, you cannot get everything [right]. Our main target is to go to the tournament to try everything we can to bring the Cup home. When the Cup comes to Ghana, I think everything will be solved.

“Yeah, because the last game we played against Mozambique, we played home in Accra in a 60,000 stadium [but] there were maybe 10,000. It is difficult for we the players because we need the fans to push us to our maximum and if the fans are not there, we can’t do that.

“We know what we have to do, we just have to bring the trophy home. I think when we bring the trophy home, things will be smooth and everything will be fine,” the 24-year-old added.

“The only thing I can say is that, we don’t have to look behind us. We just have to forget about the past. We need them (fans), we really need them so we have to forget about the past and just look at the future. Things will be fine.”