Matt Doherty insists the whole Wolves dressing room will buy into the ideas of new head coach Rob Edwards, with “a lot of positive possibilities” still being achievable this term.
The Irishman played twice under the interim management of Edwards at Wolves back in 2016, recalling an innovative coach, who he always believed was destined to manage the club on a permanent basis.
On Saturday that will be the case against Crystal Palace, and as one of the leaders in the dressing room, Doherty is taking on responsibility to support the head coach and ensure all are pulling in the same direction under a man he knows better than most.
On welcoming Edwards back to Wolves
“I’m very pleased for him. On a personal level, I know Rob quite well. I think it's a dream job for him and it's a big thing for him, considering the situation he was in [at Middlesbrough], it shows how much he wants to be here, and obviously he loves the club. Fair play to him, I think it's going to be great for the club.
“I always thought he was destined to manage Wolves, and fortunately for him and for us that that's happened now. It's something that he's going to absolutely attack and just give everything that he's got. He really does love the club, and that makes a big difference.
“He cares and he has a feeling for the club. He knows what the fans want, he knows what the club needs, and that type of thing is kind of priceless, you can't buy stuff like that. He’s been in the building before, he knows how the club works or how it needs to work to be successful. It is exciting.”
On how Edwards will change things
“He’ll have his identity, and obviously he believes in that, and it shouldn't take the players much convincing. We should be on board straight away with what he believes. Rob’s a bright guy; he's obviously a very good coach and manager. So, the way he sees things is probably the right way. We just have to make sure that we take it on board and carry out the instructions that are being given to us.
“When a manager comes in, we’ve got to listen, we’ve got to react to what they're saying, their ideas that they want. We just have to be fully attentive to what they want to do and carry it out, because at the end of the day a manager’s game plan, they feel, is what's going to get you success in the game. We’ve got to listen to that, and we’ve got to do what they're telling us.”
On everyone being on board
“They have to be. They better be. They’ve got no choice but to be. We're in a poor spot right now, but it's far from over. There's still a lot of positive possibilities for us, and me for one firmly believes that. Then it's up to us as leaders in the group to convince everybody else that there's still a long way to go in the season. I do truly believe that. I have the belief that Rob is going to get us out of this and then we can remember everything that's been said now and give them all the thumbs up when we stay up at the end of the season.”
On the young Edwards he played under
“He was learning, he's still young now as a manager, but he was obviously a young coach then learning the game. But he just had something different about him, you felt it when you were around him. You felt like he had different ideas that you hadn't seen before. He was like a new generation coach really. I'm excited to see his work on the training pitch, I'm excited for him to be back in the Premier League and back at a club that he loves.
“I was impressed with him at the time, even before he took over the two games. He liked to play with full-back inside, which teams do now, but he had that idea in mind a long time ago. That would probably seem risky at the time and now everybody's doing similar things, so he was probably a little bit ahead of his time back then.”
On being a support for Edwards
“We've got a very good personal relationship, and anything that he needs from me, any feelings that I have or what I've seen, I'll be there for him 100 per cent. I am one of the captains at the end of the day, so he'll have our full support, and we'll make sure that the rest of the squad is on board as well. He can ask me whatever he wants, and I'll give him an honest answer of how I see things, and we'll have a great relationship – we always have had.”
