Paul Osew’s attacking qualities have been shown in abundance with a goal and an assist in the past week, but he’s determined to add defensive steel to his game.
As someone who played as a forward well into his teenage years at Raynes Park Vale, the 18-year-old is relatively new to the left-back position, but he’s taken the step-up in his stride this season.
Last Saturday was a pivotal moment for Paul with that first league goal of his career against Rochdale.
Speaking during an extensive interview for our You Tube channel, Paul said: “It was my first goal for AFC Wimbledon so it was a massive feeling for me. The adrenaline hit me after I scored! It was right in front of the home fans too, so that was the best place I could have been in to score. I’m still the same, I haven’t changed! I just have to stay humble.
“The supporters are a big help to us right now. You can see that they are right behind us. It’s really encouraging because even though we are not in the right place now, we still have the support from the fans. Based on the club’s history, we know that the fans are a big help. Now we are winning, they are right behind the team and me. We know that we have to keep pushing to get to the top.
“I’m still young, I’m only 18 and still learning. I feel that the more matches I play the more I will understand the game and get better. I feel I’m getting better, thanks to what we are doing in training as well. I can see that it’s helping me in a positional sense. Right now we are doing defensive work and that’s what I need to work on. I’m good at attacking, but there’s still more I can do. I feel that what the coaching staff are putting on is doing me justice right now. We are doing more defensive one v one work with Hodgy. I feel that if we carry on the way we’ve been playing and training we can beat Southend.
“I will play anywhere that the manager wants me to play, whether it’s left-back, left wing-back or elsewhere. I’m a dynamic player, I like to get up and down that wing. If it’s long-term that I’m playing wing-back, so be it.”
Paul is thankful to former Wimbledon player Gavin Bolger, now manager of Raynes Park Vale, for giving him first-team opportunities and he’s also grateful to Darren Wiltshear, his former youth coach.
“I still speak to Darren, who was my Under-18s manager. He was at the game on Tuesday. He still encourages me and gives me positive feedback about how to improve. I thank him for that and I thank Gavin for giving me the opportunity to step-up to the first-team. That really helped me to come into the first-team here. Obviously, there’s a big difference, but I feel that the experience really helped me.”
During an eight-minute interview, Paul also said that Anthony Wordsworth and Scott Wagstaff are helping to integrate him into the first-team set-up. Watch Rob Cornell’s full interview with Paul below.