Rob Edwards' steep learning curve gave him tools to succeed at...

The new Boro boss cut his managerial teeth in the lower reaches of the football pyramid

Even though he is only 42, Rob Edwards will have managed Middlesbrough for 246 games when he takes over for

the team against Swansea City on August 9.

The era of shrewd old managers may be over—Edwards will be by far the youngest manager in the division next

season—but that doesn’t mean that youth has supplanted experience; rather, managers are being given opportunities

at a far younger age.

Middlesbrough will be Edwards’ fifth club as a manager, while he has also had spells in charge of England Under-

16s, Wolves’ Under-23s and a short stint as caretaker manager of the first team at Molineux.

Along the way he has picked up plenty of knowledge from a range of challenging experiences, from guiding Luton to

the Premier League and the ultimately unsuccessful fight to keep them there, to taking Forest Green Rovers into

League One for the first time in their history.

But he gained his management experience in Telford’s non-league battlegrounds, where he took over at the SEAH

Stadium in June 2017. The 34-year-old had a steep learning curve because their non-league resources were very

different from what he had been accustomed to from his time as a coach at Wolves, where he had taken up the

position after retiring from playing.

Even though his tenure at the club was brief, it set the stage for his future success because he made significant

development and showed promising indicators during his time there.

Andy Pryce, the chairman of Telford, told the Guardian, “He was very young but he’s a local Telford lad who had a

great professional playing career.” We were aware that he was a highly skilled coach at the time, and this was his

managerial debut.

“I believe he struggled because he was in a non-league system, and it was evident that he needed to be coaching in a

professional setting.”

However, he acquired his managerial skills in Telford’s non-league arenas, where he assumed control of the SEAH

Stadium in June 2017. Their non-league resources were considerably different from what the 34-year-old was used

to from his stint as a coach at Wolves, where he had taken up the role after retiring from playing, so he had a steep

learning curve.

Despite the short length of his stay with the club, he made great progress and displayed encouraging signs, which

paved the way for his future success.

He had to adjust to meeting players only twice a week after work, which was challenging because he was accustomed

to working with them every day. He was attempting to conduct professional training sessions, but it is quite

challenging to do so with only a few hours available.

“We did have some early difficulties, but by the conclusion of the season, all of the players had adopted Rob

Edwards’ methods, and we had a good finish. I believe that his stay at Telford taught him a lot.

Boro hopes Edwards can use his promotion magic on the Teessiders this season, as those lessons served him well at

Forest Green and Luton.

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