Craig Bellamy is now manager of Wales and pulled no punches in his latest press conference
Wales' Head Coach Craig Bellamy
Wales' Head Coach Craig Bellamy(Image: 2025 CameraSport)
Former Newcastle United forward Craig Bellamy was well known for being outspoken during his playing career.
He was a favourite at St James' Park, with his blistering pace making him the ideal partner for Alan Shearer up front during Sir Bobby Robson's golden era in charge of the club.
But Bellamy made headlines just as much off the pitch as he did on the pitch for his brutally honest interviews and no holds barred competitive mentality.
The 46-year-old has now set his hand to management, after previously holding coaching roles with Cardiff City, Anderlecht and Burnley, and has made an excellent start to life as manager of the Wales national team.
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Bellamy has won six of his 12 matches as head coach of his country and they are well in the mix to qualify for next summer's World Cup.
But they fell to only the second defeat of his tenure on Tuesday night when his side were beaten 1-0 by Canada in a friendly match in Swansea.
Bellamy made wholesale changes to his team but was perturbed by the reaction of Canada manager Jesse Marsch and his coaching team at full-time.
And the competitive spirit that fuelled a career that saw him take in spells with Liverpool, Man City and Celtic among others, as well as Newcastle, made a re-appearance as he made his feelings known to the gathered media in no uncertain terms.
“I still wanted to win, trust me,” Bellamy said after selecting a side showing eight changes from the 1-0 World Cup qualifying victory in Kazakhstan on Thursday.
“Honestly, I’m actually not happy because I really hate losing more than I like winning.
“I see him (Marsch) celebrating at the end. I’m thinking, ‘I hope I see you at the World Cup. I hope I see you again’.
“But I have to also be gracious. Jesse was shaking his coaches’ hands before the final whistle. I have to get used to that.”