LIONS NOT SO SCARY
Southgate’s taking the Mickey... Wales are up for this warns Thomas
MICKEY THOMAS says England will not scare Wales when they meet in the World Cup. Former Wales and Manchester United star Thomas believes Robert Page’s resurgent side have every chance of beating Gareth Southgate’s men in Qatar in November. Thomas feels England’s shock 4-0 home defeat by Hungary showed that Southgate has problems to solve before the tournament and reckons Wales are ready to take full advantage.
“There will be no fear at all when Wales play England in the group stage,” said Thomas. “Why should we fear anyone? We’ve proved in the past we can get results. “When you play England you always raise your game because they’re the team everybody wants to beat. So Wales won’t be scared of England – we’ve proved in the past that we can play at their level. “What will encourage Wales is that, going on England’s last couple of games, it looks like they’ve got quite a few problems they need to address. They’ve lost something they had, that winning mentality has gone. They’re like a team of individuals at the moment, they’re not connecting properly, they don’t seem together.
“I know there’s more pressure playing for England. The players are in the public eye more than anyone, and a few of them haven’t been playing well for their clubs, which can have an effect in terms of lacking confidence.
“Gareth Southgate has been in charge of England for a long time and he’s done a great job but you only get judged as a great manager if you win things. “I don’t know much about the other teams in the group, Iran and the USA. But the US aren’t the force they were, so I think England and Wales should qualify from that group.”
Thomas, who won 51 caps, also believes the fact it is set to be the last major tournament for Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey and Joe Allen will give Wales extra motivation.
“Gareth’s not the player he was,” said Thomas (above). “As you get older you lose certain things, but he still has an aura about him on the pitch and he commands attention when he plays.”
Thomas, 67, has made a successful recovery from oesophageal cancer and is walking to the summit of Snowdon today to raise funds for the NHS.
The walk, which has already raised £10,000, is to provide funds for the Upper Gastrointestinal Surgical Unit at Wrexham Maelor Hospital.
To donate to Mickey Thomas’s fundraising walk, visit www.justgiving. com/campaign/ WalkforLifeMickeyThomas