Drogba won't shun Shanghai

Former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has once again committed his future to Shanghai Shenhua, despite being linked with a move to Liverpool.

Chelsea's Champions League-winning hero has been repeatedly linked with a return to the Premier League since moving to the Chinese Super League in the summer, including a mooted two-month loan to Anfield.

But the Ivory Coast striker, 34, told the Shanghai Morning Post his sole focus was on helping Shenhua improve on their ninth-placed finish when their new season begins in March.

"I hope next season I can start again from the beginning with Shenhua," he said. "Because I joined relatively late, I didn't prepare with the team early in the season, so our results were not very good."

Drogba quit Chelsea for a reported £200,000-a-week payday in China and notched eight goals in 11 appearances for his new club.

But he has had to cope with more than one change of manager and a boardroom wrangle that sparked reports he and fellow Blues old-boy Nicolas Anelka could have their lucrative contracts cancelled.