Ahead of Wolves’ final game of the Premier League season away to fellow relegated outfit Burnley on Sunday, Rob Edwards insists the possibility of finishing 19th means something his players.
Having spent the majority of their disappointing 2025/26 campaign rooted to the bottom of the table, victory for the Old Gold at Turf Moor on the final day will lift them above their opponents.
Although he admitted the last few weeks since relegation was mathematically confirmed have been a struggle for the team, Edwards believes the fight the players displayed in the draw at home to Fulham last weekend proves they are still trying to do everything possible to provide a chink of light into the darkest of seasons.
On aims for the final game
“You don’t want to finish bottom. I don’t think anyone does, so of course it’s the only thing now, as a group, and as a team, that we can really cling on to and that we can aim for as a group.
“It’s important to have something to aim for as a group, although it’s obviously not what we wanted. It’s not what the team would have wanted, it’s not something the fans would have wanted from the end of this season, of course not, but there’s something there and the game does mean something.
“The players can have their individual goals and ambitions and things that can drive them on, but as a team, that’s the only focus that we can have now. It’s also going to be the last time we’re all together as a team because there’s going to be a lot of change going forward.”
On the threat Burnley pose
“Burnley will be right at it. You saw them the other night against Arsenal, against the champions, and they made it incredibly difficult because they’re fighting hard. This is the Premier League, so there are no easy games.
“I know we’re the two bottom teams this season, but there are still good players there, there are still players that are professional, and they are all going to have something to prove. Just like a lot of our lads, they’ll be fighting for their futures and there’ll be things going on in their minds, whether they’re going to be there or not next season, they’re going to want to play well.
“As I’ve kept saying throughout, these games in the Premier League are on the global stage, everyone’s watching you, and you want play well, you want to impress, so they’ll be no different to us.”
On putting a marker down this weekend
“It’s not something I’m thinking about too much. I can’t speak for them [Burnley], but I think we’ll probably be a very different looking team from Sunday when we play them again next season.”
On having buy-in from his players
“I think we’ve seen that. At first when we came in, it was really difficult to get the results, because we had a lot of work to do. We were picking up the players as they were very low in confidence, and there was a lot of that we needed to change.
“Then we had a half-decent period where we picked up results, and even though there were one or two losses, we built up a little bit of hope, and there was some belief. Then we had a long break, lost three games which confirmed our relegation, and maybe that just produced a bit more negativity around the place again.
“But we’ve still picked up results in the last couple of home games, we’re still fighting and the performance against Fulham shows the team is still with us and fighting and trying. We know we should have won the game with the chances that we created against a good team, so the players are working hard and fighting, there’s no doubt about that.
“But the group that we will have with us in pre-season and going forward, there will be a buy-in with them there because they’ll be the ones who want to be here.”
On his first season back at Molineux
“We knew what we were coming into. As a club, we hadn’t won for a long, long time. We were on two points. We knew it was really difficult.
“Now my reflections are that we’ve worked extremely hard to try and do as well as we can and get as many points as possible. It’s been really difficult, but I knew that was going to be the case.
“We’ve obviously got one more game, one more week, but we’re already – and we have been for a while, looking forward, and we’re excited about what we’re going to be able to do going forward.”
On being up for the fight
“I’ve not had to get myself or the coaching staff up for it. We’re preparing for games in the Premier League. There’s only 20 people who get the chance to do that in the world, so that’s not been hard. To do what we do, we know we have to be of a certain standard, and that’s not been difficult at all.
“The challenge has probably been more of the last few weeks once the relegation has been nailed on. Before then, we still had that little tiny bit of hope, but once it's been nailed on, then maybe there’s been a mindset change of one or two per cent for the players, which is kind of understandable as they’re human beings, and whether that’s a focus of, ‘What does that mean for me next year?’ Or, ‘What's happening this summer?’ It’s understandable.
“But that’s been new for me, because even with Luton, we were able to take it mathematically to the final day, so there was still something there to aim for. This has been different and a new experience. For me and the coaching staff, we’ve had to bounce it every day, and we have to make sure the levels are there every single day, but for the players, it has been difficult.
“But as long as our levels are right, the players will respond, in kind. You can see that even from Sunday, there was a good performance against a team that was fighting for European football, and up until the second last game, we were still fighting, and we need to make sure we do that again on Sunday.”
