Defender Claire Hakeman hopes to keep ties with Wolves Women in retirement

The 38-year-old revealed she has received offers from lower-league sides and added she hopes to continue her long association with Wolves.

The defender, originally from Wall Heath and now living in Bridgnorth, has hung up her playing boots to focus more time on her family life.

But Hakeman, who is also a PE teacher, revealed she could continue playing at smaller clubs which would require less commitment.

She will be mulling over the decisions while taking time out from football.

She said: “I have received four or five offers from other teams to carry on playing at a bit of a lower level.

“The commitment will be less. I would be doing a one-hour training session per week rather than four hours and I won’t be travelling around the country to places like Newcastle.

“I am hoping there is some way I can stay involved with Wolves Women. It is really hard to leave somewhere where you have been or so long.”

Hakeman has amassed more than 200 appearances for Wolves having joined them 22 years ago in their youth set-up. She came through the ranks of Wolves before joining Birmingham City for a stint in there first team and then returned to Wolves.

Earlier on in her career she played on the right-wing but developed into a right-back.

In 2017, at the end of the 2016/17 campaign, she was among the runners-up for Wolves Women player of the year.

In the later stages of her career, Hakeman has juggled her Wolves role alongside being a mother to her two children, Harrison, aged seven, and Grace, five, and being a teacher, where she currently teaches at Thorns Collegiate Academy in Brierley Hill. After announcing her retirement, tributes flooded in her Hakeman including one from Wolves.

She said: “I’m just a mum and a PE teacher and I really didn’t expect to have so much feedback from so many people.

“I have been at Wolves for a ridiculous amount of time and it has been an amazing experience.”