Craig Bellamy spent a sleepless night before turning down Burnley. He woke up, he said, and the feeling wasn't there. No urge to grab the meeting, no pull toward Turf Moor. He went with his gut and stayed with Wales, the national team he signed a four-year deal to manage in 2024 after replacing Rob Page.
The 47-year-old announced his squad for the opening four Nations League games this week, the first international matches since the Burnley saga broke. The fixture list is brutal. Wales face Cristiano Ronaldo in Lisbon, Erling Haaland at home, and a double-header with Denmark, a side they have not beaten in 18 years. They are back in Nations League A after missing out on the World Cup, and supporters were already smarting from that failure before Bellamy's talks with Burnley emerged.
Bellamy admitted he had held discussions over succeeding Scott Parker at the Championship club, where he previously served as assistant under Vincent Kompany. He left a lucrative offer on the table. He suspected Burnley expected him to take the job and felt surprise and disappointment when he said no. He denied the decision was based on an issue with backroom staff, saying instead it came down to what felt right.
"I had a sleepless night because I knew it had become real," Bellamy said. "I have to be honest, I woke up in the morning and it wasn't there. I didn't have that feeling of going into a meeting and grabbing it. You don't know until that moment comes, but to me, it has to mean the most to me."
The question now is whether that is enough for the fans. Some pundits have suggested the former striker, capped 78 times for Wales with 19 goals, needs to win back support after the speculation over his future. Bellamy said he does not know whether that is the situation he faces over the next three weeks and beyond, after reiterating his ambition to lead Wales to a home Euro 2028.
He pushed back on questions about his commitment. "I think with my body of work over the years, I don't think I need to say too much about that," he said. "I think my commitment has always been there and I've proven that over the years. I remember I had to go and get solicitors' letters from independent people because my club at the time were trying to tell me not to play [for Wales] and they would sue me if I did. I haven't seen anyone else do that."
He is not wrong. As a player, Bellamy once had a legal tussle with his club to be available for his country. He donated money to Wrexham when they were in financial difficulty during his playing days. There have been claims he has not claimed expenses from the Football Association of Wales either as a player or coach. "Wales is way more important to me," he said. "I don't believe I have to ever try to win anyone over with that."
But the Burnley episode may have changed the calculus. Ryan March, editor of the fanzine Alternative Wales, said Bellamy now has more work to do to get fans back on side. March pointed to the Bosnia-Herzegovina game as a huge missed opportunity to reach a World Cup finals, with most supporters laying the blame at Bellamy's door for his game management. The summer friendlies only added to the frustration, he said, as Wales lacked any sort of performance.
"Most fans were OK with the idea of him going to Burnley," March said. "The only way Bellamy can truly win the fans back ahead of next year's Euro 2028 campaign is by winning games and [producing] good performances. That's the simple fact. If we go and win a few of these Nations League games and stay in Group A, the flirtations with Burnley will be a distant memory."
Rob Earnshaw, the former Wales striker and Match of the Day Wales pundit, took a different view. He said he is glad Bellamy is still in charge because he moves Wales forward. "There's always going to be Wales fans that are looking for the manager to impress them, looking for the manager to do more," Earnshaw said. "The only thing that I know he can control is if he wins games and things will be better. So that's the aim, but that's going to be difficult with some big games coming up."
Earnshaw dismissed the idea that Bellamy's commitment to Wales could waver. "The only other thing that I can speak for, knowing and understanding Craig, is that his commitment won't change with Wales. If we were talking about two clubs, maybe that would be different. But with Wales, the commitment doesn't change. His drive to make the team better, make players better, trying to win us games, is going be the same and that's going to be relentless."
Bellamy said he has a "gift" of not taking what people say to heart, but he will have heard the queries over his loyalty. Whether a few wins in Group A can fully draw a line under the Burnley speculation remains to be seen. He has denied that his decision not to join Burnley was based on an issue with backroom staff, saying instead it came down to what he felt was right.
According to Yahoo Sports.