Rob Edwards has welcomed Matt Doherty’s open and honest post-match interview after last weekend’s defeat to Brentford as he feels a lot of what the Irishman said needs to be heard by members of his squad.
Speaking to the press after Wolves’ 15th loss in 17 Premier League outings so far this season, Doherty called on his teammates show character and fight for the badge, so not to be remembered as ‘cowards’ for taking the easy option and leaving the club in January.
Edwards revealed Doherty also stood up and told home truths inside the dressing room after the full-time whistle and believes the defender’s leadership skills are now coming to the fore, but the head coach admitted he would like to recruit more players with these qualities once the transfer window opens.
On Doherty’s post-match interview
“He can say it, because they all need to hear it. I’ve got no problem with him saying it. We need to have high standards here, people need to talk about it, people need to understand the level that is required, and it’s all well and good us doing it all the time, but it also needs to come from them as well.
“I get his point and I love his honesty. Doc spoke really well in the dressing room afterwards as well. Once I’d said my bit, I asked if there was anything from the floor, and Doc wanted to speak. There were parts of what he’d said in there and it’s probably in his head still, so that’s why, when he’s gone out and done his bit [in the interview], it was still in there as well, but he spoke well.
“I think he's just maturing. That’s just a natural evolution of where he’s at in his career. When I worked with him previously, he was still a younger player, he was still learning a lot about himself. He had a brilliant manager in Nuno, when Nuno came in and his staff came in, and it probably opened his eyes to another level, and he went on that journey with them, but Doc raised his level.
“He’s obviously had lots of different experiences since, so I just think he’s just a more experienced player, more mature, and he understands what the right thing is and he’s able to get that across, and the players listen.”
🗣️ “Do we want to be remembered for fighting all the way to the end of season, or do we want to be remembered for being cowards and taking the easy option?"
— Wolves (@Wolves) December 20, 2025
Matt Doherty on #WOLBRE. pic.twitter.com/W1VfkMdjx5
On needing more players with leadership qualities
“Leadership is something that is important to me, and I think it’s something that we need to look at in this coming window. Whether that’s attitude, ability, athleticism, leadership qualities, we need to be thinking of all that when you’re putting a squad together. That is a key bit.
“What Doc said, and the way he goes about his business, he is a good leader. He’s a leader in the dressing room at the moment, he’s saying the right things and he’s trying to act in the right way. I appreciate that it’s hard to do that sometimes when there’s not as many around or obvious candidates around, so he’s standing up and trying to be counted.”
On supporting Jorgen Strand Larsen
“It is difficult for him, but he’s battling on. His attitude has been really good around the place here, he’s working hard and a couple of the staff members have spoken to him and had conversations with him as well, but he’s got to work his way through it.
“There are a couple of ways to think about it. We’ll try and pick what we see is the right team to go and get a result at Liverpool, which is obviously a really difficult challenge, but he’s working really hard every day in training.
“We see everyone, every day, but there’s competition around as well, so we’ll try and select the right person for the job. Clearly, he’s not at his absolute best, but that’s not down to a work rate thing. It’s not an attitude thing, because he really does care.
“I need to stress that. I really do need to stress that he cares, he is trying, but some things haven’t gone his way, and then that snowballs, and because of results, there’s a bigger thing made of it. What we’ll try and do is pick the right team for the right game.”
On Tolu Arokodare’s chances of starting this weekend
“He is pushing. He’s working hard, he’s getting fitter, he’s looking sharper, and he obviously got his goal the other week as well, so he’s certainly put himself in the mix. Whether they play together, wherever one of them plays and one of them doesn’t, but he’s certainly training at a really good level.
“But he’s still learning. He’s learning about himself, learning about the league and our standards and what we want. With a new manager coming in, there are new messages and he’s someone that wants to know. He asks questions, good questions, and we’ve had lots of open and really honest chats, which have been very good.
“He’s taking a lot of the information on board and he’s putting it into practice out there. I’m seeing a better player every day, so that’s a real positive.”
On personal memories of Diogo Jota
“I was 23s coach then and although I wasn’t lucky enough to work with him directly, whenever our paths crossed, he was just always really warm and really open to talking. Whenever I watched him play or had the pleasure of watching their training, he was just a top player and a top person.
“It was only fleeting moments that our paths crossed in the corridor, and I might pick his brains on something, or just tell him his legs look great. I remember coming on one day and I was walking behind him down the corridor and just admiring his very muscular and powerful legs. That’s one thing that always stands out to me when I remember him.
“But he was just a wonderful person. It’ll be an emotional day for our supporters, with his link with Liverpool, but he was just an incredible person as well as a footballer.
“There were a number of them here during that period of time who were pretty incredible. It was obvious that they belonged at the top echelons of football, and we were at that stage, competing and around those sorts of areas. But he went again, and there was no surprise in that at all. I thought he was amazing from the moment he walked in.”
On January transfer plans
“We need a freshen up. Some people will need to go and play, maybe one or two might want to go, and if they don’t want to be here, then we’ll see, but we’ve got to treat each individual case on an individual basis. It’s got to be right for the football club as well, so it can’t be the tail wagging the dog. We’re in charge, and in control of it.
“That’s the message I’ll try and convey – we need to be in charge of this, and we are in control because we’re under no [financial] pressure to go and sell anyone. But if we think it’s the right thing for the football club, and we can then improve off the back of that, then we’ll do that.
“I want us to try and be in a better place come the end of the window. That’s what every manager and head coach wants. Whether that’s improvement in attitude, ability, athleticism, leadership qualities, all the things that I touched on before. If we can improve in those areas, then that’ll be great.”
