The Pool captain admitted there were "a few raised eyebrows" in the dressing room when Simon Grayson axed senior trio Ben Burgess, Claus Jorgensen and club captain Shaun Barker at Wolves on Saturday.

And ahead of tonight's crunch home clash with Sheffield Wednesday, even Edwards – the club's £275,000 record summer signing – has conceded his place isn't safe.

The 25-year-old is determined to lead the Seasiders to maximum points in what has become a crucial game after three straight Championship defeats.

But he isn't banking on being selected because he knows the manager is well within his rights to make even more changes.

Edwards said: "When I came here I was well aware that I couldn't just expect to play. I have to earn the right to be in the team. The same goes for everyone.

"The gaffer decided to make a few changes. He will look at the opposition and who is in form and make his decision based on that.

"Everyone knows they have to fight for their place game by game. Of course that includes me.

"No captain should ever assume he is going to play and rest on his laurels. You have to give your all in every game and every single training session.

"There is pressure on us all to keep our places, including me. We now have great competition for places, which is what every good team needs."

Edwards pinpoints tonight's showdown with the Owls as a key fixture.

"It's a very important game," he said. "We don't want to start getting on a slippery slope, so we need to get back to winning games."