The summer of 2024 has already signalled the end of a remarkable year in the life of Tawanda Chirewa.
After adding a first international cap and scoring his first goal for Zimbabwe to his senior Wolves debut, he’s determined to do even better when he returns to Compton for pre-season
The 20-year-old forward only made the move to Molineux from Ipswich Town in September, initially to be part of the under-21s, but quickly showed his future was going to lie with Gary O’Neil’s first-team.
With 10 appearances in Premier League and FA Cup during his debut campaign in gold and black, Chirewa is hoping to come back in July ready to fight for a place in the team – although he understands the difficulty of the task ahead of him.
On a whirlwind first season at Wolves
“I’d sum it up as decent – that’s the word I’ve been using a lot. I wouldn’t say it’s been outstanding, but it’s been decent and by the end of the season, it was where I wanted to be. I’ve still got so much that I want to show the coaches, the staff, the players and the fans what I can do, so I’m just hungry to keep going.
“You have to have a belief. If I didn’t have the belief then I wouldn’t have come here. I wouldn’t have come to a Premier League team. I had the belief, but obviously, you’ve got to produce the performances.
“But for me, the gaffer deserves all the praise because he’s the one who pushed me into the first-team, although the players getting injured obviously helped it, but I had a belief in myself that I was able to play at this level. I wouldn’t say I’ve shown it completely yet, but I’m working towards it.”
On his relationship with O’Neil
“The gaffer has been amazing. 100 per cent. There is not a single thing that I can fault him on, or say this or that – he’s been amazing.
“He’s helped me on and off the pitch, and even when I’ve done bits wrong, he’s been amazing with me, when I needed someone to give me confidence, he’s been there, when I needed someone to give me a kick up the a*** and a rocket, he’s given me that as well.
“He’s been amazing and he’s been the perfect manager for me at this stage of my career. He’s someone I wish I can play under for the rest of my career, if I could.”
On feeling at home in the first-team
“It's not been too difficult because I came in with a goal. I was never going to let anything off the pitch affect me on the pitch, so once I stepped on the pitch, everything else worked out, so it’s been good.
“The players and staff have really helped me settle, especially in training, they always include me in stuff, and it would be easy as a youngster to leave me out, like with overnights and dinners, but they’re always welcoming me into their groups and have never made me feel like an outsider.
“I always feel like I’m part of the team and as time’s gone on, I’ve grew a bond with a lot of players, so it’s been an amazing year.”
✌️goals in training for Tawanda!
— Wolves (@Wolves) January 12, 2024
Watch the latest from first-team training in Abu Dhabi on the Wolves app ⤵️
On guidance from the senior pros
“What they give me differs from person to person. But with Mario [Lemina], for example, I remember when I was on my debut and I was in the changing room, getting warmed up and getting stretched, I was in my zone and he was just telling me that I should relax and just go out there and perform the way I train.
“Go and show everyone how good I am and don’t feel any pressure as there is no pressure coming from the team. That really helped me settle down, and at half-time, I looked at him and didn’t even say anything, but he came to me and gave me little words of advice, like making more runs in behind or staying on this side more.
“He told me where I’d been good and was just giving me confidence and advice, which was vital in that game to help me to play the way I did and show me where I could have played better. Obviously, I didn’t play amazing, so there’s plenty of things I could have done better, so he was just telling me to always be ready because you don’t get many chances at this level.”
On coming back stronger after the summer
“When I come back in for pre-season, I just want to kick on. That’s what I’m looking forwards to now. I wish it was happening tomorrow. I can’t wait to have a full pre-season with a gaffer because this time last summer, I wasn’t even here yet, so I can’t wait for that.
“I can’t wait to show everyone my ability and show everyone how hard I’m going to work over the summer. I’m not taking any days off, I’m doing everything I can to be ready for next season. I’m going to try and get bigger because I’m a little too skinny right now!
“I’ll get bigger and stronger, faster, better with the ball and just completely a better player. I know players are going to come in, players are going to leave, and there are still a lot of top players ahead of me, so I’m going to have to try and overtake them. I can’t wait for next season.”
Congratulations Tawanda Chirewa on scoring your first international goal! 🇿🇼 pic.twitter.com/W86qNBtu3j
— Wolves (@Wolves) June 12, 2024
