GENERATION GAME
Mepham wants new guard to step up for Page
CHRIS MEPHAM insists Wales can handle the burden of raised hope when they play their first Euro 2024 qualifier in front of their own fans.
After returning from their opening tie in Croatia, Wales will be expected to gain a maximum three points at home to Latvia on Tuesday night.
Those pressures have not always proved easy to carry for the Dragons.
But after qualifying for Euro 2016, Euro 2020 and last year’s World Cup, Bournemouth defender Mepham reckons the dreams of the Red Wall fanbase can be realised again.
“I like to think we’ll be in a position on Tuesday where we’re the ones who are taking the game to Latvia,” said Mepham.
“It will be a different challenge to Croatia. We will probably have more of the ball, so it’s going to be different.
“But we cannot be complacent when we play teams we feel we can beat because they’re going to be just as hard.
“The World Cup was notable for how many upsets there were. It just shows that the big team doesn’t always beat the smallest team.
“But I think that’s what we need, as a new group of players, is the ability to adapt to different teams in different scenarios.
“Latvia at home is one where we’ll be expected to make the running and we have to handle that.”
With the old guard of Gareth Bale, Joe Allen, Chris Gunter and Jonny
Williams having retired, Mepham has suddenly gone from middle management to wise old greybeard.
He admits it will now be up to him to help guide the new generation, through a rebuild which is happening at the same time as the quest for vital points in the early stages of the qualifying campaign.
“As a group, you become stronger through experiences and they can be good and bad,” added the defender, whose other day job is currently trying to keep the Cherries in the Premier League.
“People might not have seen the World Cup finals as massively positive for us.
“But it was massive for us to get there and that experience is something we are taking into this campaign.” The foundation of the Wales defence have emerged unscathed from the rebuild so far, with keeper Wayne Hennessey carrying on alongside Spurs’ Ben Davies and Burnley’s Connor Roberts.
Their know-how will be vital at the Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday against a Latvian side who are ranked 133 in the world, but pushed the Republic of Ireland all the way in a 3-2 defeat in last week’s friendly.
Latvia also earned draws against both Iceland and Estonia in the recent Baltic Cup.
Former captain Ashley Williams has backed Wales to do the business at home.
But he warned: “We were riding the last wave a bit at the World Cup in Qatar. This group have to create their own identity, so that the fresh faces are the ones fans look to when they turn up. Fans will buy into all this if they know what to expect.”
‘This group have to create their own identity, so that the fresh faces are the ones fans look to’