FIGHTING TALK
Coleman happy to see England rattled by jibes
WALES manager Chris Coleman yesterday defended his players who have set out to rattle England ahead of today’s crunch match at Euro 2016. Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey have led stinging attacks on Hodgson’s squad, saying they lack passion while claiming not a single England player would make it into the Wales team. ‘If that’s their opinion, that’s up to them. They’re grown men,’ said Coleman (below). ‘One or two of ours have said things the English don’t like. We can’t worry about upsetting the opposition, whoever they are. And we can’t be afraid to give our opinions.’ But England manager Roy Hodgson claimed the Welsh jibes could backfire on them and that the pressure is on for them to back up their outbursts. ‘Talk is talk; action on the field is action on the field,’ said Hodgson, whose side are desperate for victory today after their disappointing opening 1-1 draw against Russia. ‘If we really took it seriously, thinking about what people in the other team are saying, and allowed it to affect our concentration, we’d be very ashamed of ourselves. ‘We’re perfectly satisfied with the passion we bring to our games and we don’t doubt
our passion, desire or commitment, or our wish to do well in the tournament. If others think they’re better at it, it’s fine by me. But it’s not worthy of comment.’ Coleman is fully aware of how much victory over England would mean to the team and fans, adding: ‘It’s about what happens on the pitch. All that other stuff is irrelevant. We don’t go into mind games. Let’s just get down to business. ‘This is small talk. It means nothing to me. We didn’t want (to draw) England because of the circus that comes with England — that’s not their fault. But this is a big game for us.’ Wales are confident of gaining their second win today which would seal a place in the last 16 following their 2-1 victory over Slovakia, who piled more pressure on England yesterday by beating Russia 2-1. The outcome of today’s clash is likely to depend on how England — who are set to name an unchanged starting XI from the draw with Russia — deal with Bale. However, England skipper Wayne Rooney insists his side must not be fixated on the Real Madrid superstar. ‘Gareth Bale is a fantastic player, but Wales have a lot of good players in their team,’ said Rooney. ‘It’s not England versus Bale, it’s England versus Wales. We have to stop a lot of their players.’