Former Wolves midfielder David Edwards has given an insight into how it feels as a player to face up to the prospect of back-to-back relegations.
The Welsh international, who now plies his trade for Sunderland’s relegation rivals Reading, suffered successive relegations in 2011/12 and 2012/13 as Wolves fell from the Premier League to League One in the space of two seasons.
The same prospect now falls on Sunderland and Hull City, as both clubs are in the midst of a battle against relegation in the Championship, having been playing Premier League football a year ago.
And Edwards has spoken of how a ‘toxic’ atmosphere took hold at Wolves and has explained how the pressure begins to mount on the players ‘from all angles’.
“It is such a horrible place to be in, the whole place will feel toxic at times,” Edwards explained on Football on 5.
“One win can really make a difference and build confidence but once you are in that rut and you can’t see where the next win is coming from, the pressure begins to come from all angles.
“You know what is on the line. You know that there will be some staff who could possibly lose their jobs if you get relegated again.
“It is difficult. Sometimes you get an angry crowd and you have got to try and put that to one side and perform but unfortunately at Wolves we couldn’t handle the pressure at that time.
“Both Sunderland and Hull will be desperate for it not to happen to them.”
Newcastle United's Ayoze Perez and Wolves' David Edwards battle for the ball (Image: PA Wire)
Sunderland lifted themselves out of the relegation zone on Saturday with a 1-0 win over Hull.
Chris Coleman named a young side at the Stadium of Light and 18-year-old forward Joel Asoro grabbed the goal which secured the vital win.
It meant the Tigers replaced the Black Cats in the drop zone and Edwards believes the impact of youngsters Asoro, Josh Maja and Ethan Robson gave the fans a real lift on Saturday.
“It was a massive, massive result for them and I think when you are down there, do you go for experience and hope that will get you through?
“Sometimes you go with youth and it lifts the whole place and fans are glad to see young players coming through.”