Wolves legends reunite for Black History Month film project

Gardner said: “I never looked at it through the lens of colour. I didn’t think of myself as a Black footballer, I thought of myself as a footballer who wanted to succeed.”

The icon, who donned the famous gold and black shirt as a professional player in 1973, has been hailed by the club for “helping change Wolves forever for Black players”.

Recalling the obstacles he faced in his career, the 71-year-old said racism was something he faced “all the time”.

He said: “You’d be taking a throw-in and people would shout things at you from a few feet away.

“There were occasions when players, like Brendon Batson and others, had bananas thrown onto the pitch and there were monkey chants. That happened regularly in football during that era,” he said.

“You’d also get abuse from opposition players. But often they were doing it because they wanted to get you off your game.

“Then after the match, those same players would come over and shake your hand and ask how you were.

“It doesn’t excuse it but football was different then.”