Craig Bellamy has reiterated that he does not want Wales to settle for mediocrity, insisting he plans to establish them as “one of the top national teams”. Bellamy is unbeaten since accepting his first job as a manager in the summer and said he still gets “goosebumps” every time he remembers his title.
Bellamy takes charge of his sixth game on Tuesday, when Iceland visit in the Nations League. Wales, 29th in the Fifa rankings, are second in Group B and must win in Cardiff and hope Turkey drop points in Montenegro to have any chance of topping their group and avoiding a playoff in March, which would delay the start of their World Cup qualifying campaign next year.
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Bellamy wants Wales to shoot for the stars. “I don’t want us just to be a good national team, I want us to be one of the top national teams,” he said. “I am an unrealistic person but that’s what I want us to strive for. I honestly believe we can get there. That’s why we come here, because we don’t want to just go to major tournaments, we want to have a big impact in major tournaments.”
Wales drew 0-0 in Turkey on Saturday to preserve Bellamy’s unbeaten record. “I still can’t believe I’m doing this,” he said. “I’m like: ‘I’m Wales national manager.’ It gives me goosebumps every time I think of it. I want to protect that as well. I feel like I want to do so well for you [the country]. In order to do that I have to breathe as well and calm myself down, because it’s personal. I’m so invested in this. I’m so lucky. This is not a career choice, it’s not financial.”
Joe Rodon is poised to win his 50th cap on Tuesday, while Ben Davies is set to win his 92nd cap, moving level with Neville Southall, who is fourth on the list of most-capped Wales men. Bellamy said he planned to sign Rodon from Swansea had he taken the Oxford United job in 2018 and Burnley, where he worked as assistant to Vincent Kompany, also attempted to sign the now Leeds defender from Tottenham. “He’s just been so good for us,” Bellamy said. “Maybe we help him too. But we couldn’t be happier with him.”
