ROB EDWARDS PRESS CONFERENCE: ASTON VILLA V WOLVES

“We Want To Achieve Something Incredible”: Rob Edwards Previews Aston Villa v Wolves

Rob Edwards faced the media ahead of Wolves’ trip to Aston Villa, speaking honestly about injuries, belief, and the challenge of trying to do what has “never been done before.”

This West Midlands derby already carries huge emotion. Add Wolves’ league position and Villa’s stunning home form, and it becomes one of the biggest tests of Edwards’ time in charge so far.

Team News: Doherty “Probably A Bit Too Soon”

Edwards began with an injury update, confirming that Matt Doherty is edging closer to a return, but is unlikely to feature at Villa Park.

He explained:

“Matt Doherty’s been training well throughout the week. Today really was the first full session that he joined into, so it’s probably a bit too soon for this weekend. But we’ll see, we’ve still got another day tomorrow.”

Apart from that, he says the group is in fairly good shape:

“There’s one or two with bumps and bruises and little knocks, as you expect at this stage… but there’s a fairly healthy group there.”

A First Full Week With The Squad

This has been Edwards’ first proper full week on the training ground with almost his entire squad available, after the stop-start feel around the international break.

“It’s been a smoother week. Just some consistency working with the players. Last week was fine, but it was a little bit bitty, because every day there were more players arriving back.

It’s been an easier week because we’ve had a consistent group to work with.”

That consistency has helped him start to build deeper relationships with the team and embed his ideas more clearly.

Belief, Confidence, And Realism

After the Crystal Palace game, the conversation around Wolves was full of words like belief, confidence, and mentality. Edwards made it clear those themes are still central to his work.

He said those concerns were coming from the players too:

“A lot of the things that even the lads themselves had mentioned when I’m having one-to-ones with them… they’d mention belief and confidence as well.”

But he is clear that belief has to be earned:

“That’s just something that we can only give ourselves with performance levels and how hard we work and then hopefully finding the results from that.

It’s not something you can click your fingers and just find straight away.”

At the same time, Edwards is not hiding from the scale of the task in front of him. He repeated the word that has become a key part of his message: realism.

“We’ve come into a really difficult situation. Of course there’s a belief there that if we work the right way, every day, we can dig ourselves out of this really tough position.

But also there’s a realism to it as well, that it’s never been done before. No one’s done it from this position now.

We want to achieve something incredible. I want to give people belief and give people hope. But when we came in, there was an acceptance: this is why I’m sat in the chair.”

So the tone is clear. He is not promising miracles, but he is not backing away from the challenge either.

“Green Shoots” Of Recovery

Asked what “green shoots” he is seeing around the club, Edwards picked out attitude and openness from the dressing room.

“I’m seeing a belief in the players and an understanding and 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. So that gives me a lot of encouragement.”

That willingness to adapt is vital, because he is trying to change both tactical habits and physical levels.

Lessons From Crystal Palace: Intensity And Habits

Edwards said he learned “a lot” from the Crystal Palace game, and he did not hide the fact that there is plenty to fix.

“There were a lot of tactical things that we need to improve on and fix. Some decisions from individuals, right from top to bottom.

Some things you can fix quickly, and some things are habits that we need to adjust.”

He did, however, see positives in the way the team worked:

“We saw some good stuff, in terms of the intensity of how we work, but there’s still more that we need.

We need to be able to move together at the same speed, a little bit quicker. We need to have more energy both without the ball, but also when we win the ball back as well.”

On the physical data, he revealed that some numbers were encouraging:

“Sprint distance, high-intensity running was quite good actually on the day, marginally higher than them. But the big stat that really matters is the goals.”

The goal now is to build that intensity through consistent training, while still getting the tactical messages across.

Striker Fitness: “JORGEN Is Fit… TOLU Might Need A Bit More Time”

Edwards was asked about the condition of his two strikers, whose games depend a lot on physical presence and sharpness.

“Tolu might need a little bit more time than Jorgen. He’s not got as many minutes under his belt this season, so it might take him a little bit longer. He’s up for it and working hard, but I still think he’s a little way away.

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

That suggests one forward is closer to his peak than the other, which may shape Edwards’ selection and game plan at Villa Park.

The Aston Villa Threat: Turning Strengths Into Weaknesses

Edwards did not want to give away too much detail about how Wolves will try to hurt Aston Villa, but he was full of respect for Unai Emery and his side.

On Villa’s style:

“They’ve got a real clear way of playing, which works for them very, very well. They’re really organised. Everyone knows their jobs.

Unai is an incredible manager, who’s been working with them for a long time.”

On where Wolves can attack them, he kept his cards close:

“Areas of strength for them, we have to try and turn into an area of weakness. What they will see as their real strength, we’ve got to try and use against them. But that’s what everyone tries to do and doing it is another thing.”

He also praised Emery’s career as a whole:

“The job he’s done here at Aston Villa has been pretty sensational. I’ve got a lot of respect for him. His teams generally play really well and generally win.”

Wolves will be up against a Villa side in outstanding form at home. Edwards reminded everyone:

“We’re going up against a really good Villa side who, whatever they are now, six, seven games in a row that they’ve won at home. Villa Park is always a difficult place to go.”

Derby Emotion: “They Do Care”

As someone who has represented both clubs, Edwards understands exactly what this derby means.

“Midlands derby, I want us to play with real pride, and it needs to reflect in the performance as well.

This is a really special game. People that live in this area, they know, they understand. I know and I understand it as well. These are two clubs I’ve represented. I know what it means to both sets of supporters and especially to our fans.”

He also rejected the idea that modern, global squads do not fully feel the meaning of a derby.

“I think they do, because the players are still from Earth and they still have derbies wherever they’re from as well.

We’ve got a lot of passionate players. They do care. I think they showed that last week and I think they’ll show that going forward as well.”

His message to the team will be simple:

“Once we go over the line, it’ll be down to the players to go and show that spirit and that heart and show they care. I’m pretty sure they will.”

Staff Building And Communication

Behind the scenes, Edwards is still shaping his backroom team. Harry Watling joined him immediately, and he confirmed that experienced coach Paul Trollope has now arrived too:

“Paul Trollope’s arrived as well. That’s really good. We’re working on a couple of others. Not going to have as big a team as previously; I don’t feel that’s needed.”

He also spoke about how he and his staff are getting ideas across to a diverse, multilingual squad:

“There are lots of ways that the players learn, because of the lots of different languages. We try everything possible.

Whether that’s in meetings, whether I’m drawing on the TV screen doing my best Monday Night Football impression, or whether it’s out on the grass and putting people in positions we need to.

We’re trying to hit every different way for the players to learn.”

Work-Life Balance: “Heavily On The Work Side”

Asked about his work-life balance, Edwards smiled and gave a very honest answer:

“Heavily on the work side at the moment. But yeah, it’s great. What you’d expect.”

That line probably sums up the mood at Wolves. Long days, high demands, and a heavy focus on small improvements that might add up to something bigger.

“Give It Our All” At Villa Park

Edwards closed by stressing his excitement for the challenge and his faith in the players’ attitude:

“The week has been good. The attitude of the players has been really, really good this week as well.

I want us to go out there and give it our all and put on a really strong performance. We’re looking forward to a really challenging but exciting game.

It will be a great atmosphere. Brilliant game to be involved in.”

Wolves head to Villa Park as clear underdogs, facing one of the best home teams in the league, led by one of Europe’s most respected coaches. But with a full week of work behind them, green shoots of change, and the emotion of a derby, Edwards is ready to test his side against the very best.