Coleman: Bale will relish test
Gareth Bale is going to back up his claims that Wales have more pride than england by beating them on the pitch, according to manager Chris Coleman. Coleman insisted the real Madrid star was not showing disrespect with his bold words, explaining Bale was emphasising the closeness within their camp. Bale lit the touchpaper by calling england ‘the enemy’ and saying they ‘big themselves up before they’ve done anything’, with roy hodgson describing the comments as ‘disrespectful’. But ahead of Wales facing england in two days’ time, Coleman defended his main player and described how his side need to possess the kind of winning mentality he was demonstrating. he said: ‘Gareth is the most down to earth boy you could wish to meet. he is not a disrespectful kid. I can understand where roy was coming from, but I think Gareth meant it in a way of being seen as “little old Wales”. ‘I have said myself, for a long time, we have always settled for too little. For too long, we have settled for: “We did really well, we nearly got something”, or: “We nearly got there” and we have settled for that. ‘to go that extra mile, we have got to be a bit different to what has gone before. We have got to want it a bit more. ‘Gareth was simply saying: “We are a small nation, we are a tight nation, little things mean more to us than to the bigger nations”. I understand where roy is coming from, but Gareth was not being disrespectful.’ Coleman believes Bale will do the business on the pitch, like he did against Slovakia by scoring a brilliant free-kick. he drew on the example from before the Champions league Final, when Bale was criticised for saying not one atletico player would get in real’s side but went on to provide an assist in a terrific display and convert a penalty in the shootout. ‘If you look at the Champions league Final, Gareth made a comment in that — something about atletico Madrid,’ said Coleman. ‘But he went in to the Final, played really well and scored a goal. ‘I don’t think Gareth has a problem with backing anything up. I think he looks forward to the great challenges, the big spotlight and the pressure. ‘If he didn’t enjoy it, then he wouldn’t be where he is. he will be relishing this challenge on thursday.’ Coleman said Bale could play up front again, although he will be tempted to start match-winner hal robson-Kanu, allowing the world’s most expensive player to drop to his customary deeper position. ‘there’s an option there,’ said Coleman. ‘Or I could put him back in the normal role he plays for us. But I think that we have got until thursday to work on one or two pieces.’