Middlesbrough are preparing for an important Championship clash with Birmingham City - though you’d be forgiven if it was the last thing on your mind right now.
Boro go into the game without a win in their last three games and with major concerns about their attack, but it’s matters off the pitch which are dominating the thoughts of everyone right now. Uncertainty over Rob Edwards’ future is proving a very unhelpful distraction.
The Boro boss’ future has been cast into serious doubt amid Wolves’ interest in speaking to the 42-year-old over their vacant manager’s role. With that, and uncertainty surrounding the Birmingham game in mind, here’s everything we know right now.
Where do things stand?
Wolves had an official approach to speak to Edwards rejected by Boro on Thursday evening. As of Friday tea time, Boro’s stance remained unchanged.
However, Edwards’ future is uncertain as he twice failed to shut down the speculation. He did not take training with the first team on Friday morning, and his usual pre-match press conference in the afternoon was cancelled.
Serving to intensify speculation around his future, it’s understood that is because he was instead meeting with Boro chiefs as they sought to resolve what has now become a major issue. As things stand, there are no indications of the outcome of the meetings and of what the future holds for Edwards and Boro, but his future at the club is in serious doubt.
Who will be in charge against Birmingham City?
Right now, that remains uncertain. Edwards could still emerge from the meetings with Boro’s hierarchy as the head coach, if he gives the right assurances over his commitment to Boro. However, that feels increasingly unlikely now.
Edwards’ assistants Harry Watling and Adi Viveash would be the obvious candidates to take charge of Saturday’s game at the Riverside. The trio had not worked together prior to Boro and though Watling is someone Edwards was planning on bringing to his next job after Luton Town, it’s understood that Viveash was suggested to him by the club as they worked together to finalise his coaching team back in the summer.
If Watling and Viveash were to leave with Edwards, however, then Craig Liddle would be the obvious candidate to step into the role on an interim basis. The academy manager has twice fulfilled the role for the club. He led Boro to a 2-0 victory over Bolton on Boxing Day in 2017 when Tony Pulis was appointed as Garry Monk’s replacement but took a watching brief.
He was also a major figure in the four-man interim coaching team that took charge of five games (two wins, two defeats and one draw) after Chris Wilder was sacked, and before Michael Carrick was appointed in October 2022. Though fronted publicly by Leo Percovich, Liddle was a major figure in the interim team and is understood to have been the main driver behind Hayden Hackney being handed his league debut in what proved a seminal moment for him.
What happens next?
Quite simply, Edwards either commits to Boro and rejects Wolves’ advances, or he makes clear he wishes to speak to the Premier League club, in which case Boro have a big decision to make and likely have to accept that he can’t stay in post. The debacle has left a sour taste for many Boro fans, and Edwards would have a lot of PR work to do to ease growing anger if he stayed.
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Why would Edwards even consider Wolves?
It’s a common question for many, who look at the respective clubs and wonder why on earth you’d leave Boro right now. Backed by a fantastic chairman, the club are also in a good position on the pitch. A positive start sees them third in the Championship after 14 games and right in the promotion mix.
In comparison, though in the Premier League, Wolves are winless in their opening ten games and are already eight points adrift of safety. There are strong suggestions in the Midlands that the club are in financial trouble and will struggle to back a new manager in January, amid the sale of key players without adequate replacements in the summer. Outspoken pundit Simon Jordan described them as a club in ‘managed decline’.
However, Edwards’ interest - assuming that for things to have gone this far that there is at least some - centres around two key factors. Wolves are a club he has strong emotional ties to. He made over 100 appearances for the club and captained them as a player. He then began his coaching career there too.
More importantly, Edwards recently noted that the only difficult part of the Boro job was living so far away from his family and missing them. They live in the Midlands, and the Wolves job would allow him to move back home.