Wolves are looking for a new manager after sacking manager Vitor Pereira less than 24 hours after Saturday’s 3-0 loss to Fulham left them bottom of the Premier League.
Middlesbrough manager Rob Edwards has publicly responded to allegations that he was involved in the Wolves’ appointment. Edwards, 42, broke his silence on speculation hours before it emerged that former Wolves manager Gary O’Neill had withdrawn from talks to return to Molineux.
O’Neal was released by Wolves in December 2024 and has emerged as the frontrunner to replace Vitor Periera. Less than 24 hours after Saturday’s 3-0 defeat away to Fulham, Pereira suffered the same fate.
As a result, they are at the bottom of the Premier League without a win after 10 games. According to The Athletic, O’Neill had held preliminary discussions with Molineux executives, but did not feel the opportunity was right for him.
The focus now seems to be on Edwards, who has also been linked to the Timberwolves. The former defender coached in the academy and made more than 100 appearances for the club between 2004 and 2008, before taking over as interim manager in 2016.
But Edwards insists he is fully focused on Middlesbrough, who are second in the Championship after four months in charge. “My daughter told me about it yesterday, so maybe that says a lot about where I am with all this,” the 42-year-old Boro said ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Leicester.
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“I understand that given my links with the club, but my full focus is on this job here, which is a great job, and trying to turn things around from the weekend with a really important game against Leicester.”
“This is speculation so it’s difficult to comment on anything other than Middlesbrough Football Club. That’s my focus. We’ve done a decent job so far and all I care about is winning tomorrow.”
“It’s all speculation. I never get drawn into hypotheticals and I don’t want to be drawn into anything. I love my job as manager, head coach at Middlesbrough and that’s all I want to think about. I just want to talk about us and Leicester, that’s all.”
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Asked again about the speculation, Edwards said: “All I can say is I didn’t think anything about it because all my focus was on this. We were here yesterday. We were here at 7:30 on Sunday and got home about 4:30 after a full day (of preparation) in Leicester.”
“We had a really good recovery day with the boys and I hope the meeting with them was really fruitful. Today all the focus is on what happens next. I can’t talk about anything else. That’s all my daughter is telling me.”
Other targets reportedly include former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag and former midfielder Michelle Carrick. Wolves will play away to Chelsea next Saturday, with academy coaches James Collins and Richard Walker taking charge on an interim basis.
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