Tommy Conway: Bristol City forward ready to lead Robins after breakthrough year
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The young Robins star says he wants to lead the club to the top
After a breakthrough year for Bristol City, Tommy Conway said he wants to improve on "everything" this season and lead the team from the front.
The 20-year-old is one of the Robins' homegrown successes having been part of the club since the age of seven.
Born in nearby Taunton, Somerset, Conway graduated into a regular first-team slot in 2022-23, making 50 appearances in all competitions.
He scored 13 goals to end the season as the team's top scorer.
"When I look at my game, everything I can improve on, there were still chances that I could have scored, I could have scored more goals," Conway told BBC Points West.
"And my overall game - my link-up play, my hold-up play, my work-rate - there's stuff I can improve on so I'm never going to say I'm going to work on one thing and not the other because no one's perfect in football.
"I want to work on everything and try and improve on the figures I got last year but most importantly help the team, be the focal point for the team, lead from the front, score some goals and assists and hopefully we can have a positive year."
Tommy Conway scored 12 Championship goals last season making him Bristol City's top scorer
Conway made his Bristol City senior debut in May 2021 while still a teenager but became a permanent fixture of Nigel Pearson's attacking set up from the first game of last season.
He was only absent from the starting line-up due to a hamstring injury that kept him out for two months in January.
"Last season when I think about it now it's still a bit of a rollercoaster," Conway said.
"This time last year I was saying 'this year has got to be my year' and now a year later, the difference in mindset and where I am is unbelievable really.
"On and off the pitch I just felt comfortable. I settled in with the boys, being a young lad coming through the academy and with senior players every day to have their respect that gave me confidence on the pitch.
"Living with Scotty (Alex Scott) that played a part, so I think it all just clicked.
"As I got onto the pitch and started scoring goals I think naturally you just get confidence from that as well, I think all of it just mixed together played a part."
'A proud family moment'
Conway is at the forefront of a cohort of academy players now integral to Bristol City's first-team, including midfielder Alex Scott - who remains subject to intense transfer speculation to the Premier League this summer - goalkeeper Max O'Leary, defenders Cameron Pring and Zak Vyner and forward Sam Bell.
"Without sounding too confident I like to think that this is home," Conway said.
As well as his club success, Conway broke through on the international stage last season, earning his first cap for Scotland's Under-21s.
Conway, who qualifies for Scotland through his paternal grandfather, captained the Under-21s for two games and also trained with the senior team.
"I just remember it being a real proud moment for the family and quite emotional," Conway said of his debut.
"Unfortunately, my grandad is not here anymore but he played a big part in my football career.
"When I was a young boy of seven, eight, nine, he was the one who would pick me up from primary school and take me to training sometimes and he would always be there on a Sunday as well.
"I'm always thinking of him because that's how I'm allowed to play for Scotland."
Tommy Conway (right) and team-mate Alex Scott (left) both came through Bristol City's academy and live together in the city
This season Conway's ambitions are to keep doing what he has been doing behind the scenes knowing where it has already got him in his career.
"I've set targets. I know where I want to get to this year and how I need to get there and it's just down to me," he added.
"I need to work hard every day, it sounds cliche but for me I've only got to where I've got to today by working hard."