Rob Edwards believes bringing Kieran Trippier to Wolves as the first signing of the summer is a ‘coup’ and shows the club are serious about making an immediate return to the Premier League.
The 54-capped England international was a key figure in Newcastle United’s resurgence and now drops down to join Edwards’ side in the Championship with the intentions of spearheading a new era for the Old Gold.
As well as being delighted to bring Trippier to Wolves because of his attributes on the pitch, the head coach also understands the importance the right-back will play in the changing room, with his leadership, character and experience being something the squad has lacked over recent years.
On bringing Trippier to Wolves
“I’m so happy to bring him here, because when we met, it was really evident that he really wants to come to Wolves. He wants to help us get promoted again, so this is really something for us to achieve.
“There’s something to aim for, there’s something to play for, and he was really keen on that. He was also keen on stressing how important the dressing room will be, and that we’re able to do good work in this window, but he means business.
“He did have good options, so for us to be able to get it over the line and get him in is a real coup for us. But it shows what a big club we are. We are a big draw and building on the Andre news, I don’t think we could have had a better start to the summer with what we’re trying to do.”
On being Wolves’ first summer signing
“When I met him, I said, ‘I want you to be our first signing’, and I think that sets out what we’re trying to do. With Andre committing, that was brilliant, and I said in the press conference before the Burnley game that it shows our intent, and again with Tripps now, I think it really cements that.
“We know what we’ve lacked this year, and we know what we need next year. We’re going to need a lot of things, but experience and leadership and resilient characters, strong characters – that’s what we’re going to need and we’re going to need that in abundance, and Tripps ticks every box.
“From quality to experience to leadership to know how, and he also has a real hunger.”
On his influence in the changing room
“From the outside looking in, I know people will talk a lot about a change of culture. I did say a few times that there wasn’t a lot of bad lads in our group, it wasn’t that at all, but it was a lack of experience, especially in England.
“Maybe when the chips were down, it was probably hard for the group to drag the players with them, and that was a challenge. But it wasn’t because there was bad eggs, there was just a lack of know-how, and a lack of Premier League or English football experience, and we’re trying to get back to a bit of that.
“I think that’s really important, especially in the Championship, because it is different. I know Tripps has been at the top end of the game for a long time, but he has experienced this level and obviously knows English football really well. But what he is, and what he’s really well known for – and it’s been spoken about a lot, and when I did my homework and spoke to a lot of people at Newcastle about him – is his leadership. How good he is in the dressing room, his standards every day, and how he will drive things, and he’ll certainly be important for that.
“I don’t think wearing the captain’s armband is important to him, but he will be a captain for us, on a daily basis and on a matchday as well. That side of it is clearly really important and that’s what we’ve tried to go after quite quickly in this window.”
On fitting into a new Wolves system
“We’ll play him in his best position and then it’s down to him to make sure he’s in the team! I mentioned the other week that I want us to be a back four because that allows us to get more midfielders or more forwards on the pitch.
“But he’s really intelligent, and he’s got great technical abilities, he’s really good with set pieces, he’s got real game understanding, so we’ll be able to, if needed – without getting too technical or too tactical now, because I don’t want to reveal everything – we’ll be able to play him backing up a winger, or play him a little bit more inside, or because he’s still fit enough to go overlapping and underlapping as well.
“Whatever’s required for that particular game, he’ll be capable of understanding and being able to adapt within game as well. His knowledge is almost like he’s a manager on the pitch, so he’ll be capable of doing everything.
“We’ve spoken a lot about how we’ll be able to utilise all his strengths, but one of his big ones, is his technical and tactical understanding, and being able to make good decisions whilst under the pressure of the game.”
On the pressure of bouncing straight back up
“We have to be up there this season, and I’d rather be there with good players! This doesn’t add any more pressure, it just actually makes me feel better that we’re building a squad that I’ve been banging on about and saying that we’re going to need to do.
“We need to have a better and stronger squad than we had last year because we weren’t able to compete well enough last year, and so we’re working really hard to make sure we’re competitive. Pressure is going to be there anyway because we’re Wolves in the Championship after eight years of Premier League football.
“We know the pressure’s going to be there, but I’d rather have the pressure with players like Tripps and then be able to turn around and know I’ve got a really good and strong group of players behind me.”
On Trippier’s arrival helping summer recruitment
“It could potentially help with recruiting other players. We haven’t done it for that, but it’s not going to do us any harm. I just know how important it is to have the group ready as early as possible, so we can get to work as early as possible. That wasn’t the case here in the past, and it certainly wasn’t the case last year and we heard so much about pre-season last year, and it didn’t help us and it didn’t help the whole season, but that’s one of the reasons why we’re here now.
“We want to learn from past mistakes and past experiences, because I think back to even my first year as a manager with Forest Green, we had everyone from day one, and we won the league, so I know it can help. For me to be able to stand up in front of the group on day one and have some of these new lads in front of me and everyone believing that what I’m saying is true is really important. But whether he helps for future recruitment then that’ll be great, but we haven’t done it for that.
“We’ve done it because we think he’s the right man to help us, and we wanted to get it done as soon as possible, because clearly there was a lot of interest in him. It’s a big thank you to Nathan and Jacko for helping get it done, and getting things over the line, but they’re as keen as me to try and deliver a really good squad as quickly as possible.”
