Wolves head coach Rob Edwards has insisted he has 'no issues' with any of his players following the dressing room altercation involving striker Tolu Arokodare. The incident occurred after Wolves' 4-0 defeat to West Ham, where Arokodare was involved in a physical confrontation with teammate Mateus Mane. The club subsequently fined Arokodare, who was the sole aggressor.
Arokodare was an unused substitute in the following match against Leeds, with Wolves staff and many players reportedly furious at his behaviour. Now, Edwards has addressed the situation publicly for the first time, seeking to draw a line under the matter.
Edwards: 'It's Not Uncommon'
Speaking about the incident, Edwards said: 'It was a couple of weeks ago, it happened, it's not uncommon. We didn't like it, it's been dealt with and that's all I want to say on the matter now. It was a couple of weeks ago, we've moved on from that.'
He added: 'There's always emotion, there's a lot of passion here. It's not uncommon for arguments to happen. Sometimes things can get physical, rarely, but it can happen. We've got a group that do care and the situation we've been in this year has been difficult. It's not something I'm having to control or concerned about. They are a tight group and sometimes emotions can spill over.'
No Issues with Players
Edwards stressed that the matter has been resolved internally. 'We've got no issue with any of the players and it's all been dealt with. At the time we had to deal with the situation. Now we're moving forward, it's just business as usual. He's responded well. He's been absolutely fine in training,' he said.
When pressed on whether Arokodare was the sole aggressor and his off-field character, Edwards declined to comment directly but hinted at differing personal values. 'I'm not going to comment on who was the sole aggressor, whether there was one or not. But the bottom line is that there's a group of people that care a lot about trying to win games of football. They want to do well for themselves as well as for each other and after the game, things can happen.'
Edwards concluded: 'In terms of people I like or don't like or want around, I think we're always going to have differences of opinions. I think I'm always going to have to deal with it. I don't have to be best mates with everyone or anyone, especially when you're someone who's picking a team that can be quite difficult to do anyway. But again, we've got a group of players in there that do care, that are with us and with me. I feel that as well, so I've got no problem with any of the individuals.'
