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David Edwards on the 'real' Wolves

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Points are all that really matter at Molineux on Boxing Day - but at least one player believes Wolves 'owe' Wigan.

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Points are all that really matter at Molineux on Boxing Day - but at least one player believes Wolves 'owe' Wigan.

Not in any malicious way, you understand.

But David Edwards is convinced their fellow strugglers did not see anything like the 'real' Wolves when the sides last met at the DW Stadium in October.

A 2-0 defeat was shaped by the 11th-minute sending off of Karl Henry for a reckless tackle on Jordi Gomez.

And midfielder Edwards, whose harshly-awarded foul on Charles N'Zogbia saw Gomez score the first goal from a free-kick, reckons Wigan will see a very different Wolves this time.

"It was marred by Karl's sending off which killed the game," said Edwards.

"It meant we were on the back foot for much of the game and they're a good team at keeping the ball, so if you're down to 10 men they will retain possession.

"We were strong for an hour or so and then we gave away a free-kick which they scored from.

"From there it was very hard for us to get back into the game.

"So we definitely owe them one and we'll all be up for it. It's a massive three points up for grabs."

As for the foul he committed for the goal, Edwards remains unconvinced of its merits.

"It's modern-day football. Personally, I didn't think it was a foul," he said.

"My arm was up but it was only because I was falling down and I was trying to balance myself.

"Because I touched him, he went down and the referee thought it was a foul.

"If it was me, I wouldn't have gone down that easily. But it happens and you've got to get on with it. Referees have a code to stick by and they have to make a decision, even if it was a bit soft.

"Even at 1-0, it was very tough to come back and they could just take the sting out of the game and not press forward and leave gaps."

Edwards was part of a highly impressive team performance as Wolves overwhelmed Birmingham in their last game to win 1-0.

It was a more ruthless display where Mick McCarthy's side got the ball from front to back quicker than usual.

"We took no chances at the back because we wanted to get a clean sheet and, once we got the ball in their half, then we could relax and play," said Edwards.

"We produced a really good mix against Birmingham doing that and I can't see any reason why we should change that way of playing.

"We've played a lot of good football this season without it really paying off. So if we get the ball forward a little quicker, it can work well for us and hopefully it will work for us again on Sunday."

Edwards admitted the Wigan game is another where they simply have to take points.

"We looked at the games coming up before we played Birmingham and there are a lot of points to be taken," he said.

"We started well by beating Blues, then unfortunately missed the Albion game. But there's three ahead now where we need to get some wins.

"If we can come through this period with some points, we'll be in a very strong position. Looking at Sunday's game, we feel we should win.

"I don't feel I'm putting any extra pressure on ourselves by saying that because I think all the fans would agree. It's a team down there with us and we need the three points."

Preparations have not been ideal because of the snow, with the squad forced into the gym on Monday, before Wednesday's planned training game at Molineux took place yesterday.

"We came in as normal to train on Monday but the pitches were in no condition to play in," said Edwards.

"But at least we were able to train on the pitches at Compton on Wednesday and at Molineux on Thursday when we had a good hour of proper football and worked hard.

"The undersoil heating means the pitch is fine, so our preparations haven't been too badly affected.

"We started preparing for the game in earnest on Thursday, which is what we'd normally do anyway, so it's all going to plan and we'll be ready for Sunday."

That said, Edwards believes two weeks without a game following the postponement of the Albion game has not helped.

"It can be a disruption because we're used to playing every week," he said.

Despite the break, Edwards insists Wolves retain the confidence generated from beating Blues.

"All the boys look very confident," he added. "I thought it was our best performance of the season so we have to take a lot of confidence from that."

By Tim Nash

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