NEW PAGE NEW ERA
Wales boss desperate for new generation to grab Euros spot and put Bale glory in past
IF anything speaks volumes for the job being done by Rob Page it is surely that he has positioned another Wales squad just 90 minutes from a major tournament.
Gareth Bale’s (above) impact on the national team may well outlive the current generation’s feats in the Red Dragons shirt.
But in Cardiff tonight, those to whom he passed the torch (David Brooks, circle) can fulfil the manager’s promise to the country by booking their own passage to Germany.
Page said: “This shows how far we have come in such a short space of time.
“We’re only one tournament past Gareth’s retirement – and we are one win away from qualifying for the Euros.
“We wouldn’t have qualified for the World Cup without Gareth. If you look back to the semi-final and final play-off games, he scored three goals to get us there.
“But then he wouldn’t have played at the World Cup without his team-mates.
“So, yes, we had one of the world’s best footballers.
“We are now introducing young
players without world-class players such as Gareth and Aaron Ramsey – so that shows we are in a good place.
“That’s where we are now – and it shows the strength in depth and quality we have coming through.
“So, it would be a great achievement to qualify.
“We’ve now got a young group of players who have tasted major tournaments and want more.”
Those play-off triumphs over Austria and Ukraine led to Wales reaching their first World Cup in 64 years when they qualified for Qatar.
In particular, the tension surrounding the game against wartorn Ukraine ratcheted up the pressure on Page’s players. He believes having successfully charted a way through that task his squad can reproduce the feat in similar one-off circumstances.
He added: “There were complexities around the Ukraine situation – we could all see what was going on – we tried to strip the emotions away from it. We don’t have that this time.
“We dealt with it and came out the other side – so we have proved in the past we can cope with situations like this and we need to prove we can do again. The players (Harry Wilson, left) know what’s at stake. They’ll be fired up.
They’re ready to go. It’s about keeping them calm, if anything.
“We need XI on the pitch to get the job done.
We must throw full focus on the job in hand.”
Page (below) is likely to name a largely unchanged team tonight from the one that ran in four goals against Finland last Thursday.
He may swap his hand up front with Dan James pushing strongly to start but he is convinced the power of the collective – in which he includes the Cardiff crowd –will win the day.
Wales’ head coach added: “I know what we have got in that changing room. I know we are all in it together. I know the players enjoy the way we want to play. I’ve got players who thrive on that.
“Yes, it’s still a work in progress. But these players have bought into it – and they love it.
“The reaction we’ve had from them since September – seven unbeaten – is incredible.
“And the Red Wall can help. They took the roof off with the anthem the other day.
“Let’s get this across the line. Together.”