Wales head coach Craig Bellamy has spoken of a “really difficult” period in which he felt the weight of criticism during his team’s winless run, moments after his side claimed the finest result of his reign.
Wales came from behind to beat Norway 2-1 at the Cardiff City Stadium on Thursday, a victory that ended a six-game winless sequence stretching back to a World Cup play-off semi-final defeat by Bosnia-Herzegovina in March. It was also Wales’ first win in the top tier of the Nations League, coming in their ninth game in the competition’s highest division, and their first against a nation ranked above them since Bellamy took charge.
Asked whether the result had lifted a weight from his shoulders, Bellamy made clear how much the recent scrutiny had affected him. “The summer wasn’t easy, then these games weren’t easy,” he said, explaining that he had “felt the stick” since the Bosnia defeat and had drawn on experience from watching previous managers endure similar treatment. “I’ve been part of that, and I’ve seen the abuse. I’ve seen the abuse the previous manager got just before me, and I have to be honest, it’s been a really difficult couple of months.”
Bellamy, appointed national boss in July 2024, had faced criticism from some supporters after holding talks over a potential move to Burnley in June. In a lengthy news conference following the Norway win, he said the negativity directed at him had also touched his family. “It’s not me but I have kids and a wife; it’s for them – they see it,” he said. “I’ve lived in this environment and I had it as a player, but I think there’s ways we can speak to people, and just because it’s the game we love, it doesn’t give us the right to think we can say whatever we want to.”
He added that he felt people “could be kinder to each other”, questioning why a country as small as Wales did not rally together more often. “We’re such a small country, I’m like… why can’t we have each other’s backs? Why don’t we look after each other more? Maybe that’s me,” he said. “I’m not saying everyone’s above criticism, far from it. But I think it’s too easy, and we’re too quick.”
Bellamy said he did not “want to spoil” the upbeat mood created by the Norway victory, a result he described as being for the country as much as for himself. “I’m really happy with it, but I’m happy for the country, you understand?” he said. “It’s like, I give everything for my country. Everything. I turned down big money to keep doing this. I love doing this.”
Wales now turn to their next Nations League Group A4 fixture, against Denmark at the Cardiff City Stadium on Sunday, 4 October at 19:45 BST.