00:00Now, Craig Bellamy has expressed growing confidence in Wales' squad following the recent international
00:08break. The former Welsh international believes that the team has the potential to bounce
00:13back stronger, emphasising the importance of experience in high-pressure tournaments.
00:19Bellamy highlighted that players that have been through tough international campaigns
00:23with Wales will be crucial to their success moving forward. Their tournament experience
00:29could make all the difference as the teams look to regroup and build towards future
00:33competitions. We discussed Bellamy's thoughts on the Wales' squad and the significance
00:39of tournament experience in shaping the team's future.
00:44So Rich, just looking at Welsh football and the current situation there now, Craig Bellamy
00:49has obviously come in with these huge ambitions. Just firstly on his sort of biggest changes
00:54since coming in. He's seemingly come into his side and refreshed them in such a short
00:59space of time, got his ideas across. It will obviously really be tested in the World Cup
01:04qualification stages. Those are the matches that you need to really knuckle down and show
01:10the world what you're all about. Away from the pitch as well, it just seems like Welsh
01:15football is now in a really good place and it's only took a year from failing to qualify
01:21for the last Euros under Rob Page and how disappointing that was and now it looks like
01:27the future is very bright.
01:30Yes, I suppose Wales are basically victims of their own success on the footballing side.
01:37The qualification for major tournaments is now kind of an expectation or certainly something
01:42that has to be considered every single campaign. You've got to put up a good fight. You've
01:47got to at least get into those play-off positions really. Wales have gone up in terms of seeding
01:51and they're a team that's second strongest really in the qualification group and you
01:56expect of that to finish second at the very least. Bellamy's given them that fresh impetus
02:02and desire. You're always going to get that with a managerial change. Obviously at international
02:07level you don't get as much of a managerial bounce because the camps are so far apart.
02:11The manager's not actually got boots on the ground every single day with these players.
02:16But Bellamy's influence has gone far beyond the national team. He's going to Welsh Premier
02:20matches. He's going to the Welsh Cup. He's checking out every level of the sport really.
02:26That was a criticism of Rob Page that he only really went to watch Cardiff and Swansea when
02:29it suited him and he wasn't going to these grassroots occasions. Bellamy's done that.
02:34He's playing an attractive brand of football. We've had six games under him, three wins,
02:39three draws. The wins have been spectacular, very free-flowing and exciting. The draws
02:45have been concerning, particularly the one against Iceland where we were 2-0 up. So nearly
02:50three that one away. Really, we were fortunate to get anything from that game. There's been
02:54two resilient performances against Turkey who were very, very good out for themselves.
02:59There is hope now going into this qualification campaign, but ultimately Nations League matches
03:04don't matter. We had a very good Nations League campaign. But if you're talking about a World
03:10Cup qualifier heritage, Kazakhstan at home and North Macedonia away, that really does
03:17set out your stall early on. That can make or break your entire campaign. That can kill it.
03:23If you don't win both those games, you could maybe get away with four points. But if you
03:27were to lose one of those games, that could be qualification over already after two matches.
03:32And you look back to that 2016 European Championship, Chris Coleman would have got
03:36sacked if we hadn't have beaten Andorra. We were losing 1-0 with 20 minutes left,
03:40win the game 2-1, everything changes. And you might have those sort of small margin moments
03:46in this qualification campaign as well. Bellamy's got a lot of goodwill. The fans are on his side.
03:52He's got that backing. It's not as toxic an environment as it felt with the fan base
03:56towards the end of Page's tenure. And yeah, it's a fresh start, a fresh chance.
04:02Players have an opportunity now to get their names in the team. A few injuries are going to
04:08be an issue, obviously, for Wales who have some key players for those upcoming fixtures. But
04:14there is a rejuvenation at the moment. And there's that fresh impetus and belief that's
04:18been lacking for a few years now. But ultimately, Bellamy is not taking over a team who are down on
04:24their luck and feel sorry for themselves. He's taking over a team who expect to qualify for a
04:28major tournament again. And like I said, there is now an expectation. And for as much goodwill as he
04:34has with the fans now, and as much as they're behind him, as much as they loved him as a player,
04:39if you don't deliver as a manager, it could tarnish your reputation.
04:44you
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