French born Ghanaian defender Dennis Appiah says that he was attracted by the history behind Nantes and the chance to return to the country of his birth hence his summer move from a somewhat difficult sojourn in Belgium.

The fullback joined Nantes from Anderlecht in the summer after spending several years there.

In an extensive interview with goal.com, the 27 year old full back says he feels stronger mentally than before after all he went through in Belgium.

What attracted you to Nantes?

Already, it was a Ligue 1 club. A championship that I knew. It allowed me to return to France. In addition, Nantes is an emblematic club with a history. I knew players who had been there, like Adrien Trebel or Kara Mbodj. They only told me about the good of the club and the city. I knew that coming here I was going to find a certain serenity that would allow me to be good to chain matches and show that despite what had happened in Belgium I was not finished. I did not return to failure. On the contrary, I wanted to show that I had learned things there and that I was coming back with more force.
"Christian Gourcuff is a great coach, rigorous, meticulous and pragmatic"
When you left Caen for Belgium, we talked about you as a robot who never hurt himself. There, you knew the wounds and the remoteness of the grounds. How did you experience this?

It is true that by telling you that you are a robot, we tend to believe that nothing can happen to you, until the day something happens ... What was the hardest, it's because I was in a foreign country. I was not totally acclimatized. The group had just rebuilt itself, and I found myself ejected. In addition, it lasted longer than expected. I had doubts, it was not easy to return from a mental point of view, but we did the right thing and I came back afterwards.

Today, do you feel mentally stronger?

Oh yes, completely! With the injuries and all the vicissitudes that I had in Belgium, if I can play football again now, and flourish, it is that mentally I am better. I learned a lot there. I worked differently. I know my body better today, and I can better push it to its limits.
Could it have helped you better understand the injury you had with Nantes last month?

I probably relativise a little more, even if a player, when he is injured, would prefer to be on the ground. It was not as long with Nantes as with Anderlecht, and I had a better apprehension because I knew what it was, and how to cure it. I have total confidence in the medical department of Nantes. They have always been clear to me, and there have been no problems getting back into the team.