Before joining up with his South Korean teammates for this summer’s international fixtures, Hee Chan Hwang has reflected on his 2022/23 season in Old Gold as Wolves secured a sixth successive season in the Premier League.
The forward found the back of the net on four occasions during the last campaign despite missing a chunk of it with injury issues, and although he was pleased to have helped the team retain their top-flight status, Hwang believes there is plenty of quality in the Wolves squad to be challenging higher up the table next season.
On looking back over 2022/23 season
“The start of our season was not good. The first 10 games, we didn’t have many wins and we lost many games, but we tried to bounce back from that.
“After the winter break and after the World Cup, we played well and we did what we wanted, staying in the Premier League. It was a very good moment for us because it was not easy.
“The second half of the season, we played really well at home and we enjoyed our time with our fans. Their support was very big and helped us a lot, so we were very happy to stay in the Premier League.”
Hitting the net and hitting the 50 @premierleague apps mark. 🇰🇷
— Wolves (@Wolves) April 15, 2023
A good afternoon for Hee Chan 👏 pic.twitter.com/YtbVPwegYn
On securing Premier League status
“Of course, we always felt we had enough quality in the team to stay in the Premier League. We have many good players in the team, but the main thing we were talking about was having belief and chemistry between the players.
“We tried to spend time together socially, not just in training, and that really helped us to bond as a team. That time spent together also made is really determined to win every single game, which is why we were also disappointed with some of our performances in the game away from Molineux.
“But it is why we were able to bounce back very well and win the games we needed to so we could stay in the Premier League.”
On the influence of Lopetegui
“He made us stronger once we came in, but Bruno [Lage] did well last season and we were all good until a point when we did not play well enough for him.
“After the new coach came in, we tried out best and he gave us the belief that we could do it and we could do better. He said to us every positive thing and he talked to us very honestly, even the negative things also, but we understood the negative things very well and knew what we had to do to improve.
“He made us ready to fight for the fans, for the coaching staff, for ourselves and for everyone to achieve our aims.”
The first Wolves player to score at a World Cup since Ron Flowers in 1962.
— Wolves (@Wolves) December 2, 2022
Delighted for you, Hee Chan! 🇰🇷 pic.twitter.com/JQICPqWXDZ
On aims for 2023/24
“This season we haven’t been at the top of our game and in the top places, but my aim for next season is to try and reach those top places because we have many good players and we can do more than what we have shown.
“We have the quality to fight for the top places. I want to achieve things with Wolves, so I would like to reach the European tournaments with the team. We have to aim high.”
