Wolves has “a lot of pull” for Rob Edwards and would have made it impossible for him to turn down the job, despite the “huge task” in front of him, says former team-mate Matt Jarvis.
Edwards was confirmed as the club’s new head coach on Wednesday, leaving his role at Middlesbrough to return to his former club.
The 42-year-old started his Wolves journey in 2004 and played 111 times for the club, before making his first steps into coaching with the under-18s.
He took charge of two first-team matches on an interim basis in 2016 and also led the under-23s to promotion.
“He’s got a lot of affection for Wolves. He spent many, many years there,” Jarvis told BBC Sport.
“He started his managerial career in the academies and worked his way through, so it’s got a lot of pull for him. Obviously, you never know in football when your next chance is or what you’re going to do, so for him this opportunity has come up and I don’t think it was ever possible for him to turn it down.
“It’s a massive club. It’s a huge honour for him to go and manage the club he played for.”
Edwards arrives following the dismissal of Vitor Pereira and is now charged with turning the fortunes round of a team yet to pick up three points in the Premier League this season.
“It’s a huge task he’s got ahead of him, but he obviously feels like he’s able to do something,” Jarvis added.
“The team looks beat. Whenever they go a goal behind, it looks like that’s it – there’s an uphill battle. He’s got to go in there straight away and change the mentality of the players.
“The one thing he’s constantly kept [from playing] is his personality and his genuineness to actually speak to players, supporters and the media. As a player, I think he gives you that affection. He gives you that drive. You can see the players he’s managed want to play for him.
“It’s a massive opportunity for him to try the impossible and keep Wolves up. And if it isn’t successful, maybe he’s the perfect person to bring them back up.”
