Mitchell assesses Wolves’ ‘new manager bounce’
Tyrick Mitchell says Wolverhampton Wanderers’ players could be more motivated by the arrival of a new manager in Rob Edwards – but that if Crystal Palace focus on their own game, the Eagles have a good chance of taking three points away from Molineux.
Saturday’s return of Premier League action will mark Edwards’ first game in charge of Wolves, after the Midlands side – winless in the Premier League so far this season – parted ways with Vitor Pereira.
Yet Palace will go into the game – which kicks off at 15:00 GMT this afternoon – off the back of four games unbeaten, including three wins, prior to this month’s international break.
Mitchell, who was named Player of the Match against Brighton & Hove Albion in our last game a fortnight ago following an exemplary display, is looking forward to getting stuck in again at Molineux.
“I don't think there particularly is [such a thing as a ‘new manager bounce’],” Mitchell told Premier League Productions. “But there is definitely a sense of a different atmosphere.
“When a new manager comes in, you want to prove to him why you should be starting. That's normal.
“I don't particularly think it has any real effect [on our approach]; if we play our game and we know what we need to do, then I think we have a good chance of winning.
“But at the same time, we know that every single one of their players is going to want to prove why they should start, why they can change the season for them, so I think it's a big thing, but it's not something impossible [to overcome].
“Every game in the Premier League is tough, regardless of where anyone's placed in the table. Every team has quality in their line-up and on their bench, so we know it's going to be a hard match, especially away from home.
“It's never easy in any stadium, and you're going to play against a team that are fighting to get their first win, so we just want to be the team that it doesn't happen against. That's our main thing.
“I've played there a few times over the years, and when they're doing well, it's a difficult place to go. They've had a lot of good players come through there, they've got a lot of good players there right now, so it's always difficult, but it's somewhere that we believe we can win, like any other stadium.”