Craig Bellamy took over from a depleted Rob Page, who whilst there were some great memories with the former boss, ended on a sour note having failed to qualify for the European Championships. So, what impact has the former player had since taking over the national side?
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00:00Well Charles, if we look at Wales and their national football team, Craig Bellamy's had
00:06something of a decent start to be fair, he's unbeaten. How would you rate therefore his
00:11time since he's taken over from Rob Page? Because of course Rob Page, at one point absolutely
00:16revered by all Welsh football fans given how he got them to their first World Cup in so
00:21many years, then of course a disastrous European Championship qualification campaign, that
00:30was a real low point for Welsh football. Given how successful they've been in terms of qualifying
00:34for tournaments in recent years, especially Euros, it was really, really poor. So if you
00:40look at that, obviously Bellamy's therefore had a tough job coming into it, but I think
00:46it's fair to say, because of course before that he was assistant manager at Burnley,
00:49and then he's gone and taken on his national team's role. How would you rate him? Because
00:55as I said before, he is unbeaten and so for Wales that's always a good start, given where
00:59they were before he came in. But is there anything more he could be doing, or is it
01:03very much a case of, given where they were, things are okay at the moment for Wales?
01:08Yeah, definitely. There is so much, so much positivity around Craig Bellamy and his time.
01:15Ever since he came in, his first interview, he really pinpointed the journey he wants
01:22to go on. It's almost as if they're manifesting, he wants to ensure the standards are so, so
01:28high for the nation, and there's so much more to come from them. He's given call-ups to
01:34a number of young players, whether that's in the Championship or players who are under
01:39the radar in the Premier League as well. The amount of positivity surrounding Welsh
01:46football now is just incredible. It's a complete different standpoint from when Rob Page was
01:53in charge. Obviously, he did so, so well to get them to Qatar and ultimately failed there,
01:59but to not qualify for European Championships after their success in 2016, for example,
02:05which it is quite a long time ago now, but this is a nation that have to be qualifying.
02:12That was the first standpoint that Bellamy said. He had completely admitted that if he
02:17doesn't get Wales to qualify for these tournaments, then his job should certainly be highly questioned,
02:25which is completely fair and really honest from him. I think he's been a breath of fresh
02:29air for Welsh football, coming in that there's more crowd selling out, that there's more
02:35sort of interest in Wales to come and watch this side, a really young, refreshing group
02:40of players. He's giving caps to players who you probably wouldn't think, but there are
02:44so much quality throughout Wales's ranks. The future certainly looks bright and they
02:50have so many building blocks to go forward into the future. So, yes, Bellamy's been brilliant
02:56and long may it continue.
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