Joe Allen says Ryan Giggs remains right choice as Wales manager
Wednesday 21 November 2018 11:52, UK
Joe Allen has backed manager Ryan Giggs to improve their form next year after they lost 1-0 away to Albania on Tuesday in their final match of 2018.
Defeat in Elbasan followed a Nations League campaign that saw them miss out on promotion to the top-tier of teams after they finished second in Group B4.
Giggs was highly critical of his players after the defeat to Albania, a team ranked 42 places below Wales in the FIFA world rankings, and a result that followed a 2-1 defeat at home to Denmark in the Nations League four days earlier.
But Stoke midfielder Allen has come to the defence of Giggs, who has been keen to blood new players since taking over from Chris Coleman as national boss in January, as Wales look ahead to the draw for the Euro 2020 qualifiers which takes place in Dublin on December 2.
"It's been a great experience for everyone since he's come in," Allen said of Giggs.
"A lot of new ideas have come into the camp and many players have had the chance to get game time and try and impress.
"We've spoken a lot about the youngsters that have come into the set up, and that's what has given us a lot of confidence about the future.
"We can't wait for the [Euro] qualifiers in March, it's a few months away and this was our last chance to be together before then.
"Our task now as players is to make sure we're ready to fire when those games come around. We're excited to see who we'll be up against."
Reading's Chris Gunter became the country's most-capped player against Albania as he played his 93rd international and he is also confident for the future, despite Wales losing five of their nine matches in 2018.
"On the whole the calendar year has been a good one for us," Gunter said.
"We'll come back now in March and we'll be ready to go for the European qualifiers, which is a very important time.
"We're confident that we will have a good go at qualification. We're hurting right now, but I think we're in a good position for the Euros."
