Rob Edwards says he used his side’s performance against Aston Villa to highlight where Wolves let themselves down last time out against Nottingham Forest.
The Old Gold were impressive at Villa Park last Sunday, and deserved something for their efforts, but failed to follow that showing up with a positive display against Forest, leading to defeat at Molineux.
The head coach was honest with his assessment post-match, and his view of the game hadn’t altered once the dust had settled in his next press conference, and while his players responded well to the feedback, he knows it’s what happens on Monday night back at Molineux which matters.
On recovering from Wednesday
“There will be one or two tired bodies, but it was a couple of games in three days, so you expect that. Everyone was in for recovery and training [on Thursday], and they’re all right. There’s obviously a lot of disappointment around, but we were able to review things and go through some areas of the game that we needed, so I left the room with a nice bit of clarity to go forward with.
“We were able to highlight some of the bits from Wednesday and then compare them to Sunday as well, and there was a stark difference. But the moments that we did have, when we did create or we did have some momentum, it was from running forward hard, taking more of a risk, playing forward and running forward, which we didn't do enough.”
On reflecting the next day
“After watching the game back, not loads changed from my feelings on Wednesday night. Ultimately, if we're going to lose a game, how do we want to lose? I asked that question to the players and some of the feedback was good. We don't want to lose in that manner again. It's got to look different.
“I think the big disappointment was that we saw a really good level on Sunday, and three days later it was different. That lack of consistency, again, is probably one of the reasons why we're here now. So, we need to try and find a consistent level, but the players recognise that, and I think left the meeting even more clear.”
On lifting the group
“It’s by being consistent with how we're living every single day. In every part of every bit of training now, whether we're on the pitch or off the pitch, we've got to be living like a winner. At the moment, there are still areas that we need to improve, areas within the training, whether it's preparation, whatever it might be, we can do more. That's the message to the players as well, and they're on board with that.
“If we don't see it, we've got to make changes, whether that's not in a team, or that's January, whenever that may be. We've got to be more consistent in what we do. We can't turn up and show our best self one day and be twin brothers on another day. We've got to be consistent in what we do.”
On blocking out the outside noise
“I can't control what they listen to or look at – that’s out there. We're in the position we're in, so we're going to be written off. I don't look at anything personally, or read or listen to anything, but that's just me, I try and put myself in that bubble, but I can't tell the lads how to live their life.
“It's obvious from the position that we're in where everyone sees us. We’ve got to answer that by trying to win some games of football, as simple as that. At this level there's a lot of scrutiny, and there's a lot of noise, because it's a global league, so deal with it.”
