Comment: Quick start crucial if Rob Edwards is to make Wolves' Great Escape dream a reality
If Rob Edwards is to mastermind the greatest of great escapes at Wolves, making a fast start is vital.
Having taken charge of a team winless and already eight points adrift of safety with the Premier League season approaching one-third distance, the new boss knows the gap cannot grow much larger if realistic hope of achieving something remarkable is to be maintained.
Though 27 matches are still to be played, it is the six preceding Christmas which are likely to be crucial to the short-term goal of survival. Four of them will be played at Molineux, starting with Saturday’s visit of Crystal Palace.
Hitting the ground running has not proven easy for many of Edwards’ predecessors. Of the last 15 permanent Wolves bosses, just three won their first match in charge.
Yet the two most recent to do it, Julen Lopetegui and Vitor Pereira, also inherited teams in desperate need of saving. It is their achievement Edwards must first seek to emulate.
When Wolves beat Everton on Boxing Day 2022, Lopetegui became the club’s first boss since John Barnwell in 1978 to win his first top-flight match at the helm. The victory moved the team off the bottom of the table.
Not even 12 months ago, Pereira faced an even more high-pressure scenario. Had Wolves lost at Leicester, they would have spent Christmas eight points from safety. The surprisingly straightforward 3-0 win brought them firmly back into the fight, while also damaging the morale of a rival.
Palace pose a much tougher test on paper than those Everton and Leicester sides, yet Edwards has the advantage of starting at home and if Wolves are to dig their way out of trouble, Molineux will be crucial.
Lopetegui’s escape three seasons ago was built on home form, with seven of his team’s nine wins coming in front of their own supporters. Pereira’s five Molineux wins included a 2-0 win over Villa which re-energised his reign just as the early momentum was threatening to fade.
Edwards’ appointment has brought hope of a better future but positivity will require quick results if it is to endure.
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