Mario Lemina believes this weekend’s trip to Arsenal to kick off the Premier League season will be a good test to see where Wolves are after the team were pushed hard during a first pre-season under head coach Gary O’Neil.
Saturday’s top flight opener will be the first time Lemina will lead the team out as captain having been handed the armband this summer, but the Gabon international insists he will be taking the responsibility in his stride as he builds on the strong relationship he’s built with O’Neil and his teammates during his first full season in Old Gold last term.
On taking on the captaincy
“I’m really proud that I’m the captain this year. I’ve worked hard for this and I think the whole club is really pleased with this choice. They know that I work so hard, and I try to be a leader in this team, and give them all the experience that I’ve got from the clubs that I’ve been at before. I try to really help the players to get to their best level, and that's what I’m trying to do here.
“I’ve got good relationship with the guys and then it's really easy for me to talk to them. They really understand where I want to go with them. I’ve got a really good team, a really good friendship with them, and I just try to be in between hard work and friendly, and that works really well.
“I'm not going to change the way that I was last year, I'm just going to be myself, because we want to achieve more than last year.
“I think we did really well last year, it was just the last part of the season that we were struggling with injuries. But to be honest, I'm really pleased with the team. We're working really hard, and we're going to try to be the best Wolves team ever.”
On his relationship with O’Neil
“Gary really wants me to be the same as last year – to try to push the team forward and try to get the best from the players, and that's what I'm trying to do. We have a good relationship between the gaffer, his staff and the players, and we’re all trying to be the best team that we can be.
“He's a really easy manager to work with. He tries to understand the players through the way they play, to make them play their best at the best level. He tries to mix between the tactics that they want to put on the pitch and all the characters that he’s got in the team. He's doing it really well and you can see that a lot of players stepping up a really high level, and I'm really pleased with that.
“I just think that the gaffer gets the best from me, and he’s allowed me to do something that I’ve never been allowed before. He really trusts me when I go forward and when I defend. I'm really comfortable with where I am right now, and I want to beat this goalscoring record.
“The gaffer knows that I understand the game well, I'm powerful, and I try to use it to make the structure, and to break the lines as quick as possible, to break the passes, to break the game. I like to do it, and I think it’s the best thing that I can do for the team, because we’ve already got good attacking players, and they need to feel that they can attack, they can make mistakes, but we are still here defensively, really strong.”
On feeling at home with Wolves
“I've been batting through a lot of things last year, and I had the support of everybody here; the fans, the staff, the players, and I feel really comfortable here, really at home. I hope we’re going to have a good season.
“The target this time is to be better. Last year, we didn't have a pre-season with the gaffer, and this year we got that and I think we are ready to start and compete in the Premier League, and compete for a better place in this league.
“We are all really proud of what we've done last year, but we want more. We want more. With the team that we've got, I think we can achieve even more here.”
A new season on the horizon 🐺 pic.twitter.com/rPn4CWu9nd
— Wolves (@Wolves) August 14, 2024
On being prepared to face Arsenal
“Pre-season went well, first in Marbella and it was really hot – really, really hot – but I think we need to pass through this kind of situation, work hard with this kind of weather to get fit, and we worked hard on the tactics.
“Now we are ready for the Premier League. We've been in America as well and it was a really good trip, really good facilities, and we played against good teams as well. We have shown that we are getting there, and we are almost ready for the Premier League.
“I feel great, to be honest. I think it’s a good game to start with to see where we are right now. I've seen Arsenal’s last game against Lyon and they are really good. They're still pushing at the same level that there were last year and I think we just want to play this game to see where we are right now and where we want to go because it’s going to be a good test for us.”
On new additions to the team
“I was really surprised by them. They are really ready, they push hard, they train really hard and they want to be part of first 11 in every training session.
“It's really interesting to see that these kinds of young lads are already in the mindset to push their level really high. They have already helped us during the pre-season and they understand the game plan, what we want to do, and I'm excited to see them in Premier League.
“[Neto and Kilman] were really important last year and they're fantastic players, as Ruben Neves was before, as Raul Jimenez was before, but we need to move on, and I hope they are going to have a great season as well. I'm just thinking about my team, what we're going to do, what we're going to achieve, and I'm really pleased with my team.”
