Wolves have sacked head coach Rob Edwards after just seven months following their relegation from the Premier League.
The club had previously put on a united front and insisted they were behind the 43-year-old, appointed last November.
Cesar Peixoto, who guided Gil Vicente to sixth place in Portugal’s Primeira Liga during the season just completed, has been linked with the job at Molineux.
Edwards’ assistants Harry Watling and Paul Trollope are also leaving Molineux.
In announcing Edwards’ departure, Wolves said:, external “Following a comprehensive review at the conclusion of the season, the club has determined that a change in leadership is necessary as Wolves enters the next stage of its development.”
The club added they recognised the “significant challenges faced by Edwards and his staff during their tenure” and paid tribute to their ‘commitment and professionalism throughout’.”
However, the decision was taken having “ultimately concluded that a different sporting direction would provide the strongest platform for future success.”
Wolves had already started planning for the Championship by signing Kieran Trippier on a free from Newcastle, with Edwards key to the deal, while Raul Jimenez returned, with his Fulham contract expiring at the end of the month.
Technical director Matt Jackson said last month that the club’s hierarchy was aligned in supporting Edwards as they looked to rebuild the squad.
“The plan and the goal is to get promoted straight away but we understand a lot of change has to take place,” Jackson said.
“If there isn’t alignment here, we’re dead in the water before we start, so that discussion has been going on for months already.”
Edwards left a Championship promotion race with Middlesbrough, replacing Vitor Pereira, but won just five of his 30 games in all competitions, losing 16.
Wolves finished bottom of the Premier League – and the former Forest Green, Watford and Luton boss called for change at the club recently.
“We’re a collective and I’ll take responsibility of course but it’s not an effort thing, it’s the fact that we’re the worst team in the league. That’s the bottom line,” said Edwards at a Q&A hosted by BBC Radio WM last month.
“I’ll be careful what I say because I’ve got to work with the boys as well for the next couple of weeks but we’re not good enough.
“That’s the situation we came into. I knew coming here in November, I might be sitting here in front of a lot of very angry people because this place is in a mess. I wanted to come here, I wanted to try and help.”
Analysis: Staff stunned – a gamble Wolves need to pay off
Staff at Molineux have been stunned by the decision which also blindsided Rob Edwards and his coaching team.
Technical director Matt Jackson was given the job of dismissing Edwards just weeks after saying they were united.
His “if there isn’t alignment here, we’re dead in the water before we start” comment at the fans’ Q&A last month could come back to haunt him and the club.
Edwards called Wolves a mess and had been working to change the culture of the club and squad but that blueprint will now be ripped up.
Midfielder Andre signed a new deal while Kieran Trippier and Raul Jimenez have joined on free transfers. A large part of the three committing their future to Wolves was because of Edwards.
He left Middlesbrough to join Wolves in November when they were second in the Championship and five points behind leaders Coventry.
He was planning another promotion assault and this time had a better squad and would have been backed financially, so why sack him now?
Wolves had been planning for the Championship since January, a strategy was in place and there appeared to be clear thinking.
Edwards did only win three Premier League games and there were doubts from the fans but it did at least feel the club was finally on the same page.
It cost Wolves close to £4m to bring him and Watling to Molineux from Boro and it will not be cheap to pay them off.
Reported replacement Cesar Peixoto, currently manager of Gil Vicente in Portugal, will also cost money.
He is a client of Jorge Mendes’ Gestifute agency – who have a close relationship with Wolves owners Fosun.
Peixoto has never managed outside of the country and would come into one of the toughest leagues in Europe.
That does not mean he cannot be a success but it is a gamble Wolves desperately need to pay off.
