"I want us to play with real pride" - Wolves boss delivers message ahead of derby day

Edwards, who started his career as a defender at Villa before moving to Wolves in 2004, understands the importance of this clash for the fans, but also for his struggling side.

And the new head coach is expecting his players to step up and perform at Villa Park.

"Obviously it's a really difficult game," Edwards said.

Subscribe to Express & Star Plus now for just £1 a month for 12 months for exclusive content and an ad-free website. Visit expressandstar.com/subscribe for our Black Friday offer

"It's a Midlands derby, so I want us to play with real pride and that needs to reflect in the performance as well. 

"We're going up against a really good Villa side. Villa Park's always a difficult place to go, so it's going to be a really difficult game. 

"But this is a really special game as well. Especially for people that live in this area, they know, they understand.

"I know and I understand it as well. Two clubs that I've represented, I know what it means to both sets of supporters and especially to our fans.

"I want us to go out there and give it our all and put on a really strong performance.

"I'm really looking forward to the game. The week has been good, the attitude of the players has been really good this week as well. 

"We're looking forward to a really challenging but exciting game. It will be a great atmosphere. A Brilliant game to be involved in.

"I'm seeing a belief from the players and an understanding and an acceptance that things need to change and certain things need to improve, which is really encouraging.

"There's not been any real resistance to some of the things that we want to introduce and what we're saying to them. So that gives me a lot of encouragement."

Villa have won their last four Premier League matches at home and after a 2-1 win over Young Boys in the Europa League on Thursday night, they provide a big challenge for bottom-placed Wolves.

They have also won 10 of their last 12 matches in all competitions and Edwards was full of praise for the job Unai Emery has done.

He added: "They've got a really clear way of playing which works for them very, very well. They're really organised.

"Unai is an incredible manager and has been working with them for a long, long time. The areas of strength for them, we have to try and turn into an area of weakness, but that's what everyone tries to do and doing it is another thing. 

"The first couple of games, the managers that we've come up against, they're top level coaches with Oliver (Glasner) last week and then Unai now, they're amazing at what they do. 

"He's won trophies and the job he's done at Aston Villa has been pretty sensational so I've got a lot of respect for him, as everyone will do in the league that comes up against him and everyone will do in football because his teams generally play really well and generally win."

Matt Doherty is a doubt for the derby as he recovers from a knee injury, while Rodrigo Gomes and Dan Bentley have been ruled out.

Edwards played towering striker Jorgen Strand Larsen and Tolu Arokodare together in a front two against Crystal Palace, and he may choose that physical force again at Villa Park, despite Arokodare's lack of minutes.

"I think Tolu might need a little bit more time than Jorgen," Edwards said.

"He's not got as many minutes under his belt this season as Jorgen has, so it might take him a little bit longer. 

"But he's up for it, he's working hard at the moment.

"Jorgen, on the other hand, was struggling with one or two little bits physically, but he's fit and he actually feels good so I don't think he's in a position where we need to push any more from him."