Gary O'Neil insists no fears around utilising Wolves youngsters

Chirewa only joined Wolves from Ipswich in September and after starring for the under-21s he was quickly promoted to the first team.

After spending several games as an unused substitute, the forward finally made his senior bow off the bench against Brentford in the FA Cup, and O’Neil insists he will use the club’s academy stars to plug the gaps in Wolves’ small squad.

“It was a big call, you don’t want to set a young lad up for a fall, throw them on and they make a little mistake or give a free-kick away and Brentford score the winner,” O’Neil said when asked about Chirewa’s debut.

“You don’t want to open them up to that but Tawanda has shown enough to me in training and I was comfortable putting him on the pitch in an incredibly important moment in the game.

“I’m pleased for him and know the lads were pleased for him to get his debut. It’s a big achievement getting a debut in a team and squad as talented as this, when you’re a young lad coming through the academy. I’m pleased for him.

“I’ve seen enough to trust him in those situations and Bellegarde was flagging at that point.

“The club have made no secret of the financial position we’re in this season and I’m not one to complain about it. I understand exactly where it is.

“If we have to do well with Tawanda in the team, then it’s Tawanda. If it’s one of the other young lads, no problem.

“We’ll play with whoever we think is best and available to us and we’ll crack on.”

Wolves have seen a boost to their squad, however, with Pedro Neto’s return to fitness.

The winger came off the bench in the league against Everton and the cup against Brentford, increasing his workload between the two games, as he now targets his first start since returning.

“I’m delighted he got through as long as he did,” O’Neil added.

“He had no issues at all, felt great. We were trying to get him 45 minutes and didn’t know whether to do it from the start or just after half-time.

“I felt if we started him then maybe it would be hard to bring him off, so it was safer to go with him from the bench and he had a really good impact.

“Pablo Sarabia has been in incredible form for us. He’s been fantastic in the last few weeks, but Pedro showed what he is.

“He had some really good moments.”