Dave Edwards: The pros and cons of Wolves' enforced mid-season break

On the positive side, it should benefit some of the players that have played a lot of football. It will help those returning from injuries and players like Mateus Mane who has played a lot of minutes and is starting to look a little bit jaded. Some time off might help him find his groove again.

Andre has also had some minor injury problems, so downtime will help him stay fully fit, while Toti Gomes now has extra time to build his fitness.

Especially after the season Wolves have had, it's very tough mentally, very draining, and having this period where you can start to switch off a little bit and recharge the batteries to make sure you're ready for a really important run in. 

I know Premier League safety is a long shot, but even building some momentum for next season and players are playing for their futures, so they'll have a chance to really get themselves in the best frame of mind possible for that run in. 

An extended break without games will also be like a mini pre-season for Rob Edwards, allowing him to work on his philosophy, tactics, what he's noticed so far and where he wants to go. That time on the grass can be really important for this small squad.

The huge negative of the break is momentum. Wolves are on their best run of form this season, playing some good football, and got a good result against Brentford last week.

The fans are engaged at the moment and you're going to lose that with this big break. I do think Wolves are a confidence team and they've been getting better week on week as they build on that confidence, so this break will hurt that a little bit. 

For the players who are in good form, their match fitness will be at its best during their routine. You know what you need to do every week to get yourself ready for a game and naturally the match fitness will decline.

With every international break, there is a risk of players going away and picking up niggles.

Players being in a different environment with different messages from different coaches, that might take a little bit of time to recalibrate when they return.

Another negative is the amount of thinking time the players will have. That will impact the players, Edwards and the media and it can build a little bit of pressure, people can start to question things. It's how you use that time effectively so that the pressure doesn't increase. 

I don't think, overall, that Edwards will be too happy with the timing of this break. They are on a good run and he'd want to build on that. 

Results over the weekend were favourable, so there is still a small chance of Wolves being in the mix, and everyone at the club will have wanted to continue playing.

It's never happened to me mid-season. The closest thing I have experienced is when it gets to the end of the season and I was going away with Wales, the Championship would finish two or three weeks before the Premier League season finishes. 

I would have this break, and it's important that you don't just completely switch off because you're going into a really important set of games with your country, so you need to be at your absolute best. 

I used to find that after a long, tiring season, I'd have the first five, six or seven days off where I might try and go away. I'd still be active and I wouldn't be all-inclusive, drinking beer and eating loads of rubbish, but I'd go away and try to recharge.

I'd then come back and go straight into a small condensed pre-season, topping up my fitness before going away with the rest of the camp, because the lads in the Premier League who were just finishing their season would have a massive advantage over us. They'd be in their flow and it is really difficult to manage.

With the sports science expertise that these Premier League clubs have now, I'm sure they'll be able to manage that fall-off as best as they possibly can, but nothing ever replicates playing football week in and week out in front of a crowd. 

That's the one thing that you will lose, that little bit of match sharpness, which hopefully will come back straight for that West Ham game, but it's not always the case.