Mario Lemina focusing on Wolves aims for 2023/24

The January signing made a big impact on and off the pitch as Wolves survived relegation from the Premier League last season.

Now with the 2023/24 campaign in his sights, Lemina is targeting a strong pre-season.

He said: “I never have personal goals. It’s just about the team. Honestly, I will really look forward for the pre-season because we didn’t have a pre-season together.

“It was a really emergency work that we had (since January) and now I just want to see the pre-season. All the chemistry is going to be there and then after that, we can tell what we’re going to be, our aims and our targets for the season.

“During the season, the first months are going to be key, and we have to make sure we get the most points that we can to stay alive, and then after, to think about other aims.

“For me, the first part of the season is the most important part because you need to get the points – a lot of points – to make sure you are still able to have some other targets on top of (survival), and not just looking down all the time.

“I want to make sure that next season we are going to get these points early with the team so we can have better aims.”

The squad will return to Compton in early July before leaving for Portugal where they will enjoy a warm weather training camp.

Another return to Compton will follow before the team fly out to South Korea.

Lemina added: “For me, the pre-season is really important. It’s really important to get fit, to establish the chemistry between us and increase the friendships even, because when you get close to other players off the pitch, it makes you play better as a team.

“So I’m looking forward for this trip, not only for the new experiences that we will have, but the way it’s going to make us stronger as a team.”

Wolves will play two games during their stay in South Korea, that will last around 10 days.

First they play Celtic at the Suwon World Cup Stadium on July 26, before facing Jose Mourinho’s Roma side at the Incheon Asiad Stadium on July 29. Both games will kick-off at 8pm local time, which is will be midday in the UK, and Lemina is excited by the opportunity to explore a new country and culture.

Lemina said: “I’ve never been to South Korea before. I’ve been to China, but never to South Korea, so I look forward to experiencing something new.

“I love going to these kinds of countries and I was looking at also going to Japan this summer, but I haven’t really got enough time to go, so Korea is going to be a great experience.

“I know they are really big football fans, they love Hee-chan, and I want to see what’s going to happen there.”