Shropshire Star

Dave Edwards: Wolves are so close to the complete performance

I have no doubt Wolves are going to win plenty of matches under Bruno Lage.

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So far, they have just been so, so unlucky. I really do feel for the players, the fans and the manager in particular.

They have arguably had the hardest start of any team, facing three opponents in Leicester, Tottenham and Manchester United who all expect to be competing for those top four positions.

Barring the first half against Leicester, they have been the better team in all three games.

Sunday’s display against Manchester United was possibly their best yet and had they just managed to score those goals they deserved early on in the game, it would have been close to the complete performance.

That is obviously the one area they need to improve, in terms of being more clinical in and around the box. But 90 per cent of their game is perfect and I believe if they consistently perform like that the results will come.

It is such an exciting brand of football they are playing but you also feel they are not leaving themselves too exposed. That is one thing I was worried about. Playing a higher line, I wondered whether they might get done for pace over the top but on the contrary, Wolves have been in control of the games and the opponents have been limited to half chances at best.

It is all about choosing the right pass, or finding the right finish. Against Tottenham I didn’t think they got enough bodies into the box but against Manchester United they seemed to have addressed that.

Ultimately, it comes down to the players. Bruno Lage has put in a system which gets them into these positions and then it is down to the players to capitalise. Don’t get me wrong, David De Gea’s save from Romain Saiss was outstanding but at the same time he is three yards out with a wide-open goal to score in.

One thing which will help Wolves is the more Raul Jimenez gets minutes, the sharper he should become. At the moment he doesn’t look anywhere near the levels he was hitting prior to his injury, which is completely understandable.

He doesn’t look in the zone right now. So many times in recent years the ball would be played up to him and he would hold it for what seemed like an age. Now he has more players around him but he is just not quite in the same form. I’m sure it will come with time and when it does, it will give Wolves another dimension.

It’s a key few hours now until the transfer window closes. It does feel like Wolves need maybe a couple more players but I think the most important thing is keeping what they have in terms of Ruben Neves and Adama Traore. They are Wolves’ stand-out players at the moment, they need to keep hold of them at all costs and I fully expect them to.

They could probably do with a bit more depth. I still feel they are a central midfielder light, just to give Moutinho and Dendoncker a little more help and add competition for places.