Joe Allen says Wales have missed Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey
Tuesday 29 March 2016 23:50, UK
Joe Allen admits Wales have missed the influence of Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey during their recent friendly internationals.
Chris Coleman's side have not won any of their three friendly fixtures since qualifying for Euro 2016, with Bale and Ramsey absent for each of those games.
They have lost matches to the Netherlands and Ukraine, while also being held at home by Northern Ireland.
Real Madrid star Bale and Arsenal playmaker Ramsey missed those games through injury, and Allen admits their presence makes a massive difference to the national side.
The Liverpool player said: "Any international team would miss players of that quality.
"To have the chance to welcome them back into the group is a massive bonus for us. It's going to help bring the real best out of the team."
Wales face England, Slovakia and Russia during the group stages in France, with Allen admitting friendly games may have no bearing on what happens when the competitive matches start in June.
Allen added: "Whether it is a friendly or not, the result is important, but it's not the be all and end all at this stage.
"Teams in the past have flown through friendlies, drubbed teams and then disappointed. So I don't think it's too much we will look at.
"We will analyse the way we have performed, any strengths and weaknesses and work on them."
And Allen tried to remain upbeat following their matches against Ukraine in Kiev, and Northern Ireland in Cardiff, during the past week.
He added: "I thought there were a lot of positive aspects from our performance, so to lose it with that one moment where we lost our concentration is disappointing.
"But we have played 180 minutes without conceding a goal from open play, and that shows how defensively strong we can be as well.
"It's something we pride ourselves on in the past and we will keep working and make sure we get it right when the Euros do come around.
"We certainly don't want to go into the tournament making those kind of sloppy errors and I think that's the silver lining of the goal we have conceded.
"We will make sure we get it right in preparation for the tournament."
