Mario Lemina leads Wolves challenge ahead of Brentford clash

After beating Chelsea on Christmas Eve, it is the club’s home form that has helped them to mid-table in the Premier League.

They have struggled away from home with six defeats and just two wins from nine games on their travels and Lemina believes a top-half finish is possible if Wolves fix their away form.

“We are really comfortable at home and feel the support of the fans,” the midfielder said.

“We are struggling less than away from home and I hope we have this kind of performance away from home as well, as we need some points away to get to where we want to be. We all know we’re struggling a lot away from home, but we’re working really hard to get to this level and compete. That’s what we’ll do until the end of the season. If we can get some points away from home, it will be better for us as Molineux is a fortress right now.

“The games are coming fast and we have to recover well. The team needs to recover as we put in a really big shift (against Chelsea), and we need to be prepared and ready for the next game.”

Lemina has also been playing for Wolves during a difficult time for his family, with his father seriously ill in hospital for the past two months.

“He’s struggling a lot right now,” Lemina added. “He’s been in hospital for two months and I hope he’s going to be all right.

“My family is around him and if he was still awake he would tell me to work hard as I always do and not worry about his situation, so that’s what I’m trying to do. But I need to have some backup with what’s happening. I need to stay strong and believe he’s going to recover.”

The Gabon international put in a man-of-the-match display against Chelsea despite his father’s worrying health, and head coach Gary O’Neil has given Lemina his full backing.

“It’s a really difficult and sad situation for him, and he had another spell earlier this season where he had some difficult news and times to get through,” O’Neil said.

“He knows he has my full support in all of that, whatever he needs from me. These things are obviously bigger than football, so if he wants to talk about it he can, or if he needs me to shut up and let him crack on, that’s no problem. If he needs time away, that’s no problem.

“Mario knows. We have a really good relationship and his performance (against Chelsea) tells me he was in a really good place to go and attack a game of football.

“We wish him and his family well with the situation and he’ll get whatever he needs from us in terms of support.”