Wolves boss calls on players to deal with home pressure
Rob Edwards believes his players need to learn to stand up to the pressure of playing at Molineux in their bid to end their losing streak.
The two best performances in Edwards' five games in charge have come away from home at Villa and Arsenal, with both resulting in slim defeats.
Amid ongoing protests from unhappy fans and Wolves' plight at the bottom of the table, Edwards wants to see his players deal with the pressure at Molineux ahead of tomorrow's visit of Brentford.
He said: “Our two best performances have been away, so now we’ve got to go and show that at home. It hasn’t got to be the world’s best performance at the moment, but we’ve got to see character, we’re going to have to show resilience at times, we have to do the basics well and better than we did last time out at Molineux, and hopefully then we can grow into a game of football. Who knows how it’s going to go, how it’s going to pan out, but it’s down to us to go and show that.
“Of course we need the fans, but I won’t change my tune, and we’ve got to make them get behind us. It’d be great if they could support the lads, but they’re really frustrated at the moment – not all of them, but some are more frustrated than others.
“We’ve got to concentrate on what we can do and what we can control because the fans want to get behind the lads. When they see those moments, when they see the goal against United before half time, the atmosphere was great, so we’ll concentrate on us, and then hopefully it’ll be a good performance, and the fans will want to get behind the team.
“I’d love to see the performance levels that we’ve had in the two away games against two of the best teams in the league, they’ve been really good, and we’ve been really competitive, so it’s on us now to go and show that at home. We’ve got to show some character, and we’ve got to try and show some belief and intensity, and the supporters will come with us. It doesn't matter how old you are – if you’re 18 or you’re 32, go out there, believe in yourself and perform.”
When asked about the psychology of the players ahead of playing at home, Edwards added: "They do need to do that (stand up to the pressure).
"We can talk about it and take pressure away, I can say things about us and being brave, but ultimately it's about how we react in the environment.
"If we start well and things are going well, then the atmosphere will be good, but if something goes against us or we're not running, fighting, or we're passive, then we know which way it will go. That energy will change.
"It's just down to us and how we react, but that's the nature of sport.
"We have to get results and we have to get them quickly, and we haven't had them for a long time.
"I can say whatever I want at the moment, but whether that has any affect when the lads go over the white line and the whistle blows, then I'm not sure."
Edwards is set to reward a number of academy graduates with a place in the match day squad as seven of his first team miss out.
Emmanuel Agbadou and Tawanda Chirewa are at the Africa Cup of Nations, Hugo Bueno, Marshall Munetsi, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Rodrigo Gomes are all injured, while Yerson Mosquera is serving a one match suspension.
Edwards said: "There will be a few young ones involved, which will be good for them. It will be a good experience.
"We'll have two or three on the bench, which is great.
"We've had a number of them above the weeks training with us on certain days, so we're starting to get to know them.
"Let's see if an opportunity comes their way."
Meanwhile, Edwards has paid tribute to the sad passing of former Wolves academy player Ethan McLeod.
The 21-year-old died in a car cash following a match for Macclesfield this week.
Edwards said: “It’s desperately sad news. My heart goes out to his family, and to his brother, Conor, who’s in our under-21s. It’s such a huge loss.
“Words sort of fail me in these situations. We’re all thinking of Ethan’s friends and family at this time, and we’re here to support them in any way that we can. It’s desperately sad news and my heart goes out to his family.
“He was a young player here and I actually remember him. He was here from seven years old and like Conor, the club has been a big, big part of his life, but it’s just terribly sad news, and at this time now, I can’t imagine what his family are going through, and we’re all thinking of them.”
