Gareth Bale will handle Wales expectation, says Chris Coleman
Saturday 11 June 2016 11:56, UK
Wales manager Chris Coleman is confident Gareth Bale will be able to handle the huge focus on him at Euro 2016.
The 26-year-old Real Madrid forward is tipped to be one of the stars of the tournament in France, having scored seven of Wales's 11 goals in qualifying to inspire his country to a first major championship finals since 1958.
Slovakia provide Wales' first Group B opponents in Bordeaux on Saturday and their coach Jan Kozak and star player Marek Hamsik have understandably identified Bale as Wales' key threat.
But Coleman believes being the centre of attention will not unsettle Bale at all.
"We've grown used to that really," said Coleman. "Once you become the most expensive player in the world and you're playing for Real Madrid - he's won two Champions Leagues in the last three years - it's normal for the opposition to look at Gareth Bale and pay him a lot of attention. They need to pay him a lot of attention.
"So we're used to it, he's used to it. Because luckily for us, if you've got a player who's playing where he plays every week, coming into this tournament, he's used to all the spotlight.
"He's used to having the eyes of the world on him and everything he does, on and off the pitch. He's looking forward to this and so are we."
Catch up with all the latest Euro 2016 news with 'Euro Breakfast' each morning on Sky Sports News HQ from 6am.
