Rob Edwards would have been hoping for much more in his first game as Wolves head coach.
Crystal Palace delivered a devastating blow with a 2-0 win at Molineux on Saturday afternoon. Adam Wharton felt Wolves were tough to beat, and that could offer some encouragement.
However, the most important thing right now is results, and there were not enough good performances against the Eagles.
Edwards has now spoken out for the first time following the loss and gave his verdict on his Wolves side.
Are you confident Rob Edwards will help Wolves avoid relegation?
Rob Edwards believes Wolves need to give themselves confidence
Rob Edwards was left disappointed with the result against Crystal Palace, and he felt that the game was there for a result.
It took the away side until the 63rd minute to finally break down the Old Gold, and when they did, it came against the run of play.
The Wanderers started the second half well, but a lack of self-belief appears to be the biggest concern for the Wolves head coach.
Speaking after the game, Edwards said, “We’ve got no one to blame other than ourselves. We’ve got to look at ourselves and find a way to get out of this. No one’s going to give us the confidence and belief; we’ve got to earn that ourselves.
“It’s not going to be done in a week. We knew it was never going to be click your fingers and that’s it. There was a lot in there that has probably been the story of our seasons. We lacked confidence and needed that first goal.
“We’ve tried to up the intensity. We need to be able to get to work. We’ll have a full week to prepare for Villa, and hopefully we’ll improve again.”
Work will now begin back on the training ground, as facing Aston Villa away will be no easy game. Edwards will need a result if he wants any chance of repeating the heroics of Vitor Pereira last season.
However, early signs could indicate it is possible.
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Rob Edwards’ start is similar to Vitor Pereira’s at Wolves
It is obviously early days, and there is plenty of time for data to update and the sample size to increase.
However, the numbers from Rob Edwards’ first game in charge do resemble those of Vitor Pereira’s first 10 games.
Vitor Pereira and Rob Edwards – Wolves comparison
That will no doubt offer some encouragement, as Pereira was the man who was able to turn around the ship last year.
Edwards said after the game, “It was never going to be a quick fix, but there are moments there. You look at the stats, and there’s probably not that much in it. It’s fine margins,” and the head coach is right.
It was a disappointing day, but with more work on the training ground, he could repeat Pereira’s heroics.