With just two points from 11 games, Edwards arrives at a stricken club with the team in desperate need of inspiration.

According to Opta, Wolves ‘deserve’ to be sitting on 11 points and Pereira felt conceding late goals against Tottenham, Brighton and Burnley – which cost Wolves five points – damaged the team’s mindset beyond repair.

Edwards has been in a relegation battle before, after guiding Luton to a surprise Premier League promotion in 2023.

Two years ago the Hatters fought against the Premier League drop, which was made more emotional after captain Tom Lockyer’s cardiac arrest on the pitch at Bournemouth in December 2023.

The defender had returned from heart surgery after previously collapsing in the play-off win over Coventry in the May.

Lockyer, now playing for Bristol Rovers, remains in touch with Edwards and believes he will be able to connect with the Wolves squad and restore their confidence.

“He really cares about his players,” said the 30-year-old. “That was evident in the play-off final when I had to go off and he found out I was all right when he was doing an interview and burst into tears.

“When I saw he’d joined Wolves I didn’t just want to send a text. I was going to give it a couple of weeks and give him a call because I knew his phone would be going mad.

“After we played Accrington last weekend he called me on Sunday. He was just ringing to see how I was getting on, how I was feeling in the games, how I was training, how the family were. There was no other agenda than he just wanted to check in on me.

“With everything he had going on, I didn’t quite believe it but it just sums him up.

“But he’s also a winner as well – he’s not nice all the time. I have seen him flip his lid now and again, which when it does happen makes it have more of an impact.”

Luton eventually went down – and Edwards left in January this year before the now League One Hatters suffered a second successive relegation – but Lockyer saw what the 42-year-old can bring to a survival fight.

“The work ethic was unwavering and there was this ultimate belief we were going to stay in the Premier League,” Lockyer told BBC Sport.

“He didn’t get any backing in the January [transfer window] and still ended up having a hell of a fight. I’ve always said if he’d had a bit of backing, we’d probably still be in the Premier League now.

“When you feel like you’ve got someone who genuinely cares about you, it’s a lot easier to go to battle for them.”