Kalou wants more football to stay on at Chelsea

London: Salomon Kalou has revealed that he wants assurances from Chelsea before he signs a new contract with the club.

The Ivorian forward, whose current deal expires at the end of the season, says he is still locked in talks and would like to remain at Stamford Bridge, but is concerned about the lack of playing time he is receiving.

Kalou has started only two of Chelsea's 12 matches under new boss Andre Villas-Boas, who has, nonetheless, said that he does not want the 26-year-old to leave.

"I want to stay, I want to be here," said Kalou, speaking after he came off the bench to score the fifth goal in the 5-0 Champions League rout of Genk on Wednesday night.

"I like Chelsea - I have had a fantastic five seasons here and won some prizes."

"Chelsea are looking forward to the future, I am still a young player and I think my future can be here."

Asked whether he needed assurances about how regularly he will be involved before putting pen-to-paper, Kalou replied: "That is what every player wants to have - game time. Because if you are not playing every weekend, then how are you going to improve yourself?"

"So it is very important to play to improve and to push yourself to the limit. That is what I am looking for."

Kalou expressed surprise when it was put to him that Villas-Boas had said that the club had put a contract on the table.

"Oh really? No, we are still talking," he insisted. "Hopefully the club is putting itself in a good position and me, myself, as well. I think we are going to agree on something good."

Kalou explained that it is not always ideal for substitutes to come on when the team has all but secured victory, as happened on Wednesday night when he replaced Frank Lampard with Chelsea four goals up.

He said: "It is difficult because players are saving themselves for the next game, they don't want to pick up injuries, so it isn't easy to come in. When I came in, we kept pushing and we scored the fifth goal so I am pleased with that."

"I hope I can play more. I can push myself, train hard, and come in if I have the opportunity and score. The rest is normal. The manager picks the team and every player respects the decision," he added.

Meanwhile, the 26-year-old was taken aback by the suggestion that Genk were one of the worst teams Chelsea have hosted in Europe.

Kalou said: "Wow. Worst team? I don't know about that. You cannot take away the good performance of Chelsea."

"We played good football and we scored very early, so that gave us also the opportunity to create more chances. So I cannot say we played the worst team."