Dave Edwards: New Wolves boss has already lifted Molineux spirits

Wolves fans knew they were bottom and would stay there for the World Cup break with a defeat – but there was a real air of optimism around the place and you could feel it around the stadium.

That was the case even before Julen Lopetegui was unveiled, but once he was paraded in front of the fans it was incredible.

I’ve never quite seen anything like it before, a new manager doing a lap of honour on his own, other than a cameraman following in his wake.

The applause was incredible, even from Arsenal fans – a few of those were clapping – and it was booming as he came around to the South Bank.

You always expect the Wolves faithful to make a lot of noise, but I was really proud of the supporters.

It was like they showed up to the game against the leaders and the main agenda was ‘let’s show this new manager how good we are and how much we can get behind the team’.

It was a sensational reception and one which carried into the game, Wolves fans kept going until the end.

Despite the league position and the trouble Wolves are in, I believe most fans are excited – certainly fans I spoke to, and myself included – for what January and February and beyond could bring.

We need to steer clear of the drop zone, however that is done, and then if the manager lives up to anywhere near the expectation fans have of him then it will be really successful.

There are two aspects for Lopetegui, what he can control now and what he can add to the squad.

I imagine he’s been promised a bit of a war chest to go with and they need forward players – that is the only thing Wolves are lacking to be a really competitive Premier League team.

You could see against Arsenal, if Wolves had a top striker – a fully-fit Kalajdzic, a 2018/19 Raul Jimenez, even a reasonably-fit Diego Costa – then that game is different. A striker who can hold play up and affect the game at the top end.

They have been unlucky with some injuries and cannot afford to wait until these players are fit and right. We don’t know how Raul will come back from the World Cup, Kalajdzic is obviously out for the season and you never quite know what Costa will bring.

It was clear the new boss had a big input into the side, it was different than under Steve Davis.

It was back to a back five, very much a 5-3-2, almost Nuno-esque in the way they played, Wolves sat deep, were hard to beat and looked for breaks.

There were so many good counter opportunities, I actually thought Goncalo Guedes and Adama Traore did well up front, but the team was just missing a proper number nine.

That is more of what I expect from Lopetegui in the short term.