Ashley Williams has returned to the Wales set-up as a coach, joining Craig Bellamy’s backroom team ahead of the Nations League. Bellamy has described the former captain as Wales’ “greatest captain” of the modern era, and the Football Association of Wales hopes the appointment will add a missing ingredient in the bid to reach Euro 2028.
Williams, now 42, won 86 caps and wore the armband for more than half of those appearances. The former Everton and Swansea City defender was skipper when Wales reached the semi-finals of Euro 2016, where they came up against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal — the peak of an international career. He will not be adding to those appearances; his role is now on the coaching staff.
The timing reflects the challenge ahead. Wales go into their Nations League openers aiming to shut out Ronaldo and Erling Haaland, with games against Portugal, Denmark and Norway to come. With that kind of test, Bellamy’s squad might need all the defensive help it can get.
Williams is one of two new faces. Alan Sheehan, a former Leeds, Leicester and Luton full-back, also joins. Bellamy says both will help provide “a different dynamic”. “I loved this summer interviewing people, seeing who could add to us,” said the 47-year-old. “It freshens you up, gives you a different eye. Different strengths coming in means a different dynamic to how you work, which leaves me quite excited.”
The pair replace James Rowberry, who has opted to focus on his role with Mark Robins at Stoke City, and Piet Cremers, whose analytical work Bellamy said meant “everything” but who left to join Belgium’s Club NXT in July. Cremers spent time under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City and worked with Bellamy and Vincent Kompany during their successful period at Burnley. Former Wales midfielder and current Tottenham assistant Andrew Crofts remains part of the setup, while goalkeeper coach Martyn Margetson is also involved.
The changes came weeks after it seemed Bellamy himself would walk away from the job amid interest from Burnley, and after he lost two key assistants. Williams’ arrival was something of a surprise: his coaching experience has been limited to informal roles, and supporters are more accustomed to seeing the much-admired ex-captain in the Match of the Day studio. Sheehan was not an expected announcement either, having been out of work since November 2025, when he was sacked by Swansea City following a relatively unsuccessful seven-month stint.
The obvious strength Williams brings is his personality, with past team-mates for club and country queuing up to attest to his character. With Bellamy’s Wales a young side, the role mirrors the one the more experienced Williams played on the field, where he was senior to the likes of Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey — a leader among equals. “I played underneath Ash as a captain, and he was a great leader in the dressing room and led by example in the way he conducted himself on and off the pitch,” says Euro 2016 colleague Sam Vokes. “He can be someone who speaks from experience and will go into that dressing room and immediately command respect. Portugal and Denmark away, he has played in those environments. He will be able to speak to the lads that are going out in those environments because he led by example, and led in the trenches many times.”
Bellamy agrees, having retained a friendship with the former Swansea skipper after sharing a Wales dressing room with him. “In my time he’s been our greatest captain,” he says. “Some ex-players with a certain presence can really add something, but also his knowledge of the game is really high, his football IQ is really high.” Bellamy says he is keen to lean on Williams’ defensive know-how, while making clear the managerial message remains his own. “Now, I’ll lead a lot on the information, but it’s nice for me to be able to ask ‘What would you see with this? If you played there, how did you feel when I asked you to do that? Is that possible? Is that not possible?’ I believe he’ll be a huge asset to me.”
The appointments come against the backdrop of Wales’ failure to reach the World Cup and the beginnings of criticism around the side’s openness. FAW chief football officer Dave Adams, speaking on the Feast of Football podcast, said of Williams: “He’ll bring some unique skills, particularly when you play Nations League A games when you have to defend a lot. Some of the dark arts of defending, he’ll bring some interesting things for the players to think about.” There is also the thought that Williams would be prepared to challenge Bellamy’s thinking, seen as a healthy part of a management team.
Sheehan’s appointment likewise suggests a more defensive focus. Viewed as pragmatic during his time at Swansea, the 40-year-old former Republic of Ireland Under-21 international is expected to bring his eye for set-piece work, something he has handled during previous coaching roles at Luton and Southampton. “We really want someone who is in tune with restarts and set-pieces,” added Adams. “In these sorts of games they could be the factor that give us a chance to win the game, because they are going to be very hard games to play in. We realise the importance of attacking and defending set-pieces in these next six games, and feel Alan and Martyn Margetson will bring that level of detail to help the team be best prepared for these games.”