Rob Edwards praised the bravery and character of his side in the second half at Anfield but knows that now needs to become a constant.
After a quickfire double from Liverpool before the break, Edwards needed to reorganise his players, but half-time gave him that opportunity, and what he saw after that point, which pushed the hosts all the way until the end, impressed him.
Santiago Bueno’s second goal of the season kept the game alive, and Wolves kept asking questions until the final whistle in search of an equaliser, and although that didn’t come, that attitude has given the head coach something to hold on to.
On mixed emotions at Anfield
“We showed good character after going 2-0 down. It was really frustrating to concede the second goal in the manner that we did. We just regained the ball, lost the duel, jumped out and opened up spaces for him to score a second. This place can go crazy, it can become like a washing machine with the noise, and you concede quickly.
“We managed to get in at half-time, reorganised, and actually then played very, very well in the second half. We showed a lot of character, bravery, good quality, we were aggressive – the team that I want us to be in the second half, and we can hopefully take a lot from that.”
On improving second half
“That's what we needed to do. We challenged the lads to do. We adjusted one or two things tactically, and I thought that worked. Mane I thought was excellent throughout the game, so him moving inside then caused them a lot of problems, and we found him a lot in between the lines, and he was able to create. One or two adjustments, and then the fact that we showed some character, belief and kept fighting and didn't go under, of course we have to take those things.
“Liverpool can force you back, like they did in the first half, but then we still need to be aggressive, and we still need to be able to keep the ball better and be braver. We did that in the second half, and we looked a the good team, but it's a results business, and it's another way we haven't got.”
On Mane’s impressive full debut
“We've been trying to get the right time to do it. Anyone who's been a supporter of ours, or anyone who’d been watching us recently, will say that he's deserved it. It's down to him, he's deserved that, he's made me pick him. We always want to use young players if we can, especially players that have come through. But he's earned it, and then he showed today that he deserved to be out there.”
On turning performances into results
“We need to start the game as we finished on Tuesday. The fixtures aren't that kind, Anfield and Old Trafford within three days of each other. A lot of teams might be struggling with injuries, suspensions, people away at AFCON, whatever it might be.
“We'll have to look after the boys, wrap them up. We've lost another one from suspension now [Andre], so we'll see what team we're able to pick. But that feeling, that energy that we had in that second half, we need to take that into the beginning of the game on Tuesday.”
