Wolves appoint Rob Edwards as new manager

Wolverhampton Wanderers have swiftly appointed Rob Edwards as the new manager following the sacking of Portuguese manager Vitor Pereira, who was sacked last week after a series of disappointing performances at the start of the season.

Under Pereira’s tenure, Wolves failed to win a single game out of 11 Premier League games in the dugout at Molineux.

Edwards leaves Championship side Middlesbrough to join Wolves on a three-and-a-half-year deal to return to Molineux, where he spent four seasons with Wolves as a player and had a couple of spells in other coaching roles with the club.

The 42-year-old manager leaves Middlesbrough less than six months after taking charge at the Riverside Stadium, bringing an end to what is seen as a short stint with the Championship side.

His pre-match press conference for Middlesbrough was cancelled ahead of last weekend’s win over Birmingham City, and prevented Edwards from leading the side on matchday amid talks over his departure.

Edwards’ return to Wolves 17 years after leaving the club as a player, leaving Boro six months into the season, with the North East club sitting second in the Championship behind Frank Lampard’s flying Coventry.

Rob Edwards departs Middlesbrough to Wolves six months after signing for the Championship side

A deal was struck between Boro and Wolves over the weekend, with Wolves having to pay compensation in the region of £3 million.

Edwards will be joined in the dugout by ex-QPR and Rangers coach Watling, who was his assistant at the Riverside.

Wolves Executive Chairman Jeff Shi said: “I know Rob very well, and I have seen his growth in different jobs. He’s a very good person, he knows the club very well, he knows the city, the fans and he is very talented.

“When he was a youth coach here, he showed his tactical awareness, but after he took first-team jobs he started to grow his own identity, character and leadership.

“We need to refresh the whole club with a new coach’s philosophy, bringing his own identity and ideas, and we can build on that. We are at a new chapter for the club, and Rob will be a key piece of that.”

Director of player recruitment and development Matt Jackson said: “Rob and his staff have demonstrated previously that they can be really good in shifting the culture, getting confidence quickly into players and building foundations for a really positive future.

“He loves being on the grass and making a change to a team, embracing the tactics of different situations.

“The energy that he brings off the field, we have to get it on to the pitch. We have to be realistic about where we are, and we definitely need to be held accountable.

“We now need to get that belief into the players quickly and think Rob will be great culturally for the whole football club.”

Edwards’ first daunting task will be to lift Wolves from the bottom half of the table and steady the ship to avoid a return to the Championship.

His first challenge will be the first game in charge of Wolves at Molineux in front of his new home support against a resilient Crystal Palace under Oliver Glasner on November 22.