“Angered and upset” – Wolves coach shares Tolu Arokodare update after racist attacks

Wolves coach Rob Edwards has revealed that Tolu Arokodare struggled initially following the racist attacks targeted at him last weekend, but his condition has improved thanks to support from the club and fans, Afrik-Foot reports.

​Last week, Arokodare shared screenshots of online racist abuse he received in the aftermath of Wolverhampton Wanderers’ 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace in the Premier League.

Those fans appeared frustrated with the striker after he missed a first-half penalty, allowing Crystal Palace to secure all three points courtesy of a goal from Evann Guessand.

​Arokodare expressed his disappointment regarding the situation on social media. The club and the Premier League swiftly moved to back the player.

Ahead of Wolves’ upcoming fixture against Aston Villa on Friday, Edwards provided an update on Arokodare’s status and mental wellbeing.

​”It’s been a really difficult week for him,” Edwards said. “He was upset and angered by it, understandably so, but we’ve supported him and had a few individual chats with him,” Edwards said, per Express and Star.

“We’ve spoken about it as a group as well to make sure that we get around him and support him. He’s had overwhelming support from a lot of Wolves fans and other people reaching out, which is really good. The Premier League have been in touch, there’s support there, but we’re talking about something that we are having to do far too many times.”

​The Welsh coach noted that the abuse took a visible toll on the striker’s demeanor early in the week.

“It puts things back in perspective. He was quiet on Monday. You could see that he was upset; he was down. But in terms of his training this week, he’s been able to shift that mindset and in the last few days we’ve seen the usual Tolu, especially when we’ve been out on the pitch.”

​Rob Edwards Stands in Solidarity with Tolu Arokodare

​Despite Arokodare’s resilience on the training ground, Edwards acknowledged the lasting impact of the week’s events.

​”I still think he’s been quite quiet around the place, but that’s understandable. As a middle-aged white man, I can’t begin to put myself in his position. It really angers and saddens me.

“I apologised to him that he’s having to go through this, but I can’t understand how he’s feeling because I’ve never had to deal with anything like that. I can’t imagine how he’s feeling, but we’re here for him and we’ll help him any way we can.”

​Looking forward, the manager called on Wolves fans to transform their frustration into vocal support for the Nigerian forward.

​”We want to support our players and get behind them. Our supporters can have an influence and show that love by singing for him. I’d love us to look after our own in these sorts of moments when people are going through adversity like that.”

​Both the club and the Premier League have launched investigations into the social media accounts responsible for the abuse.

It is hoped that Arokodare will be mentally prepared to lead the line for Wolves against Aston Villa. The striker will be looking to continue being the main man for Wolves for the remainder of the season.