Wolves had only three points at the start of the year, but has Edwards given them hope, however improbable?
He lost his opening eight games after replacing Vitor Pereira in November, taking a first point in a draw at Manchester United in December.
Since then, including the result at Old Trafford, Wolves have earned 13 points in 12 games.
It is not enough to put them within touching distance of safety given the gap – which grew to 16 points at one stage – but 13 points is the same haul as Brighton and Newcastle in that time, and two short of fourth-placed Aston Villa.
Wolves are 12th in the form table over the past five games and 15th over the past 10.
They have lost five of their past 15 games in all competitions, a significant upturn after losing 17 of their opening 21 this season.
In Tuesday’s 2-1 win over Liverpool they restricted the misfiring champions to 0.62 xG (expected goals).
Only leaders Arsenal have managed to limit Liverpool to fewer chances in open play, with 0.28 xG in the Reds’ past 16 games.
Liverpool gained revenge in Friday’s 3-1 FA Cup victory.
Running stats have also improved considerably and Wolves have outrun Liverpool, Chelsea, United, Everton, West Ham, Forest and Villa since the change in management.
Previously, the squad had managed it only twice, including running only 180m more than Brighton during their 1-1 draw in October.
The squad covered 113,508m in this month’s home win over Villa, the fifth highest of the season, having run 114,427m coming from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Arsenal at Molineux.
That was the second highest mark of the season and collectively they are running 7.8k on average higher – around an hour for a midfielder – under Edwards.
With the former Middlesbrough boss, who gave up a Championship promotion campaign for a relegation battle, Wolves now also commit the most fouls in the league per game, having previously been in the bottom two.
“We have a bare minimum – our non-negotiables,” said Edwards. “Sprint recoveries, work ethic, duels. The sprint effort is now night and day.
“We are in control of those things. We can’t always promise we will be great with the ball – we might make mistakes – but what we can control is how hard you run and work.
“That stuff is why over the past 15 games or so we have been more competitive.”
