Midfielder David Edwards knows better than most the scale of the task facing Wolves – and has known it for quite some time.

Tomorrow’s Molineux clash with Manchester City will bring back to mind an under-14 schools game Edwards vividly remembers, when the performance of the opposition goalkeeper caught his eye.

He said: “You knew immediately he was different, a cut above.

“It was an under-14 game I think but he was so good he was playing a year above his age group.

“It was a big game for all of us, a semi-final with the winners getting the chance to play at the old Gay Meadow. I remember the lad in the opposition goal saving one of my efforts during the game and thinking he was pretty special.

“The game finished goalless and we lost 10-9 on penalties!”

That lad, of course, was Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart and the pair went on to become Shrewsbury Town youth players, landlord and lodger and the best of friends.

It is a friendship which endures to this day and throws extra spice into tomorrow’s encounter as Wolves, desperate for a win, face the unenviable task of trying to prise the points from the grip of Hart’s star-laden City side.

You can bet Edwards and Hart will exchange a little banter before kick-off but there is a warmth to their friendship which endures the fierce rivalries and brutal pressures of Premier League football.

Edwards said: “When did we last speak? Joe called me before the Chelsea game on Saturday to wish me the best of luck. I imagine we’ll be in touch before the kick-off tomorrow.

“We did our YTS together and when I bought my first little two-bedroomed house in Shrewsbury, Joe rented one of the rooms off me. We’ve been friends ever since.

“But when he was young he was so much better than anything else around – shot-stopping, kicking, everything.

“All he needed was maturity and experience and that has come in the last couple of years.

“Now he’s one of the best goalkeepers in the world.”

And while the rest of the nation was screaming for Hart to be given his chance during England’s World Cup finals campaign, his mate back in the Midlands was relieved he was spared the responsibility.

Edwards said: “I could see all the pressure England were under in South Africa and I was glad he wasn’t selected.

“It wasn’t a bad thing for him not to play. It could have set him back, he won’t agree with me of course but that’s how I see it.

“Now he has started afresh with the Euros as England’s first choice -  he’s got a lot of World Cups ahead of him.”

Edwards’s old mate is symbolic of the challenge facing Wolves tomorrow.

City will surely be weakened by the loss of Carlos Tevez, back in Argentina nursing an injury.

Tevez has been the inspiration behind City’s rise to a title-challenging position this season while producing the team’s stand-out moments last year.

But his absence leaves the way clear for two hugely-gifted forwards who have been lurking in Tevez’s shadow, Emmanuel Adebayor and Mario Balotelli, to take centre stage.

It is hardly a comforting proposition for Christophe Berra and Co.

Nevertheless, Edwards believes he can mount a case for a Wolves win tomorrow despite the enormity of City’s investment and quality of their roster.

The midfielder knows the team cannot take refuge in ‘hard luck’ stories forever and that points are now vital.

But he said: “We are still confident about the way we are playing – we are producing good football.

“But we are also aware that everybody patting you on the back and saying ‘you’re playing well, you’re just not getting any luck’ is a dangerous mindset.

“They’ve got great players but it is only going to take a few things to swing our way for us to win the game.

“We have to beat them in effort and determination and perhaps one or two of their players will be just a little bit short.

“We have to make that happen and, of course, be a bit more clinical in front of goal.”

By Martin Swain