Rob Edwards insists there will be no letting up from his players as they continue to fight to remain in the Premier League, despite the perilous position the team finds itself in.
After picking up a spate of positive results before a 25-day break, defeat to West Ham United last weekend has put the Old Gold on the brink of dropping into the second tier, with Edwards’ side needing three points against Leeds United on Saturday to keep their head above water.
Even a point at Elland Road might not be enough to stay afloat if other results this weekend go against them, but regardless of how the season ends, the head coach feels optimistic about the club’s future.
On bouncing back from defeat last weekend
“In this league, everyone loses games and you’re going to drop points. Of course, the result was really disappointing and the manner and the timing of goals two and three probably just skewed everyone’s view on the game as well, because we actually played really well in the first-half and there was some good stuff there, but ultimately, the result was horrible.
“But we can’t let that knock us, and we’ve got to try and keep going the right way and trying to do the right things. There has been a lot of good results and some good performances, but you can drop points in this league, and if you switch off or make a few mistakes, you’ll get punished.
“If you take the last game aside, we’ve shown a good side to ourselves, we’ve won some big games, fight backs against big teams, and probably people watching would have looked at the club then and gone, ‘You know what, it’s actually a decent place to be and to play’, so it’s important that we show the best side of ourselves.
“We want to try to take as many points as possible and take it as far as we can. That’s what we want to do, but momentum is really important, because we want to be able to start next season with that as well – pre-season, as well, if we can.”
On facing Daniel Farke and Leeds
“He’s a brilliant manager, first and foremost. They’ve done a great job, and consistently for a long time now their performance levels have been above where they actually are in the league. They’ve done great, have some really good players, they’ve got a great way of playing, very aggressive, really dynamic, quick, loads of intensity.
“I thought Leeds were outstanding last year, watching what they did from the outside. They were a brilliant team, and it felt like playing against a Premier League team last year in the Championship. This year they’ve adjusted one or two things, they’ve recruited very well, they look powerful, they look strong and I’m sure he’s learned from a lot of experiences from he’s been promoted before.
“He will have enjoyed this year with the way they’ve gone about things, and I know they’re still not over the line yet, but they’ve put themselves in a good position
“It’s going to be a very challenging game, but our players know all this, and we’re looking forward to it as well, so it should be good going up to Elland Road, it’s always a really good atmosphere there and they’ll be buoyed by the result from their last time out away at Man United.”
On injury news
“We’ve got one or two bumps and bruises. Sam’s still not available yet with his shoulder, but Doc has trained the last couple of days, but we’re just weighing up the risk as well, because he’s only been training for a couple of days.
“He’s pushing and he would like to be involved, so we’ll make a really late call on that, but other than that, I think everyone else is good.”
Leeds on the horizon 🔜 pic.twitter.com/BthueWWj52
— Wolves (@Wolves) April 17, 2026
On Yerson Mosquera’s two-game ban
“Hopefully the conversation I’ve had with him, he knows my feelings on it, but also the fact that he’s going to be missing two games of Premier League football is enough to deter him. He plays with his heart on his sleeve, he’s emotional, he gets involved and he’s really on the edge, but a lot of that is why he performs so well.
“But in those critical moments, he needs to know when to strike the balance. He managed himself for a few games on those nine bookings well, so I was really surprised when he did that, and then he tried to cover it up and go and have a drink, and thought that he’d hopefully gotten away with it, but they didn’t miss it.
“He made a mistake, he admitted that, he apologised, and he felt really down when I spoke to him about it, so he will learn. But it’s tough because he’s been performing so well for us, and now we’ll miss him for a couple of games, so we all pay the penalty.”
On the possibility of relegation
“If it happens, there’s a few of us in the staff who have lived that before, so we’ll be able to lean on those experiences. Of course, no one wants it, but we know the challenges that we’ve faced this season and where we’ve been all season long.
“It’s about making sure now that we continue to fight and finish the season as strongly as possible. Then we face whatever reality comes our way in the best way possible to make sure that the club is in a position to bounce as strongly as possible.
“It’s in everyone’s best interests, for themselves, for their families, to do well for the football club and to fight. The lads are showing that in training every day, so I’m pretty convinced that the performance levels and the fight will remain.
“If anyone doesn’t, and they don’t show that, then they won’t play, and we’ll play a young player, as I’m sure they will, but I don’t think that will have to be the case. I’m sure the fight will be there, and we need to make sure there’s pride in difficult circumstances and we continue to show that.”
On squad planning for next season
“We need to be able to get it right. The recruitment at any football club, you live and die by it basically. We need to get the summer right and we knew that was a huge challenge coming in, and we’ve had one window, it was never all going to be fixed in one window. We do need time, and I think everyone understands that.
“There will be frustration at the football club and the supporters will be frustrated, but we’ve made mistakes over a number of years now, and we need to try and correct that. It’s not going to happen in one window. We’ve got a lot of work to do, but I’m encouraged.
“There’s a lot of good people here, some really good planning going on, and we’ve got some good players here as well, that we’d love to be able to be working with next year as well. But time will tell. Although we’re having a very difficult time, there is some things to look forward to and we can hopefully get the club back to where we believe it can be.
“I’m positive with what we can do with this club over a period of time. People want to talk about and see the here and the now as well, so we’ve got to make sure we finish as strongly as possible, and the next thing is Leeds.
“We’ll try and take care of the next few weeks, but of course, we want to be able to improve the club’s position and try and return some of the really good times that we’ve had over this last decade.”
