Burnley acting head coach Bellamy backed to land Wales job

Former Wales striker Iwan Roberts reckons Burnley acting head coach Craig Bellamy would be the “ideal appointment” for Wales.

The national team are searching for Rob Page’s successor after parting ways with the 49-year-old, who spent three-and-a-half-years in the hot seat.

Bellamy is currently in interim charge at Turf Moor following Vincent Kompany’s move to Bayern Munich. The Welshman also worked alongside Kompany at Anderlecht but will not be part of his backroom staff at the Allianz Arena.

The 44-year-old won 78 caps for his country as a player and has been named among the bookies’ initial favourites to replace Page along with the likes of Osian Roberts and Mark Hughes.

Roberts, who had spells with the likes of Norwich and Leicester, reckons Bellamy would be a good fit to lead Wales as they aim to bounce back from missing out on the Euros.

He told BBC Sport: “I think there is one name at the top of the list at the minute, there is a reason Vincent Kompany hasn’t taken Craig Bellamy to Bayern Munich with him.

“He was the first person he turned to for Anderlecht and Burnley.

“I think Craig would be the ideal appointment. I think if you could get Craig with Osian Roberts working alongside him, that would be the idea partnership.”

Page led the team to the round of 16 at Euro 2020 before ending a 64-year wait to qualify for the World Cup.

However, the side missed out this summer’s tournament in Germany and the recent poor displays against Gibraltar and Slovakia saw his tenure come to an end.

Dave Adams, FAW chief football officer, said: “I would like to thank Rob for his work with the Association over the last seven years, firstly as the U21s head coach and then onto the role of Cymru head coach.

“Rob’s work has delivered success reaching the round of 16 at Euro 2020 and qualification to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and during his period we also integrated 18 pathway players into the senior squad.

"As we move forward this experience will support our objective to consistently qualify our men’s national team to major tournaments.”

Ruud van Nistelrooy continues to be linked with the vacant position at Turf Moor, although the Dutchman also reportedly has interest from former club Manchester United over a role in Erik ten Hag's backroom staff.