Wales boss Bellamy wants to make his team one of the best on the international stage as he aims to top his Nations League group.
Wales boss Bellamy has reiterated that he does not want Wales to settle for mediocrity.
Bellamy, who hasn’t lost since taking his first managerial position in the summer, claimed that he still gets “goosebumps” whenever he recalls his title.
Tuesday’s Nations League visit from Iceland will be Bellamy’s sixth game as manager. To have any chance of winning their group and avoiding a playoff in March, which would postpone the start of their World Cup qualifying campaign the following year, Wales, who are ranked 29th in the FIFA rankings and are in second place in Group B, must defeat Cardiff and hope Turkey loses in Montenegro.
Bellamy wants Wales to shoot for the stars. “I don’t want us just to be a good national team, I want us to be one of the top national teams,” he said. “I’m an unrealistic person but that’s what I want us to strive for. I honestly believe we can get there. That’s why we come here, because we don’t want to just go to major tournaments, we want to have a big impact in major tournaments.”
Wales drew 0-0 in Turkey on Saturday to preserve Bellamy’s unbeaten record. “I still can’t believe I’m doing this,” he said. “I’m like: ‘I’m Wales national manager.’ It gives me goosebumps every time I think of it. I want to protect that as well. I feel like I want to do so well for you [the country]. In order to do that I have to breathe as well and calm myself down, because it’s personal. I’m so invested in this. I’m so lucky. This is not a career choice, it’s not financial.”
Ben Davies will earn his 92nd cap on Tuesday, tying Neville Southall, who is currently fourth on the list of Welshmen with the most caps, while Joe Rodon is expected to earn his 50th cap. Bellamy claimed that if Rodon had accepted the Oxford United position in 2018, he would have signed him from Swansea. Burnley, where he served as Vincent Kompany’s coach, also made an attempt to get the now-Lewis defender from Tottenham.
“He’s just been so good for us,” Bellamy said. “Maybe we help him too. But we couldn’t be happier with him.”