Watch: Decoding how Wales will set up under Craig Bellamy

With the appointment of Craig Bellamy as Wales boss thoughts now turn to his first game and the none-too-inconsiderable challenge of Turkey in the opening match of the Nations League campaign.

Much has been said about the former Liverpool, Newcastle and Cardiff City star and his scholarly approach to coaching. So how will the Welsh goal ace set out his side and how will he get the best out of a young but experienced squad?

Thankfully, Welsh football analyst Cai Jones has done all the hard work for us with a thorough overview of how he believes the former assistant to Vincent Kompany at Burnley will set his team up to get the best out of his players.

And key amongst this will be how you solve the conundrum that is Brennan Johnson. Thankfully, Cai believes Bellamy is just the man to get the best out of the Tottenham star.

“I’m very happy we’ve got him,” says Cai, of Bellamy’s appointment. “For me once Osian took himself out of the running it had to be Bellers. For me we should always have a Welsh manager and Craig being the man in charge fills me with confidence.

“I expect his footballing principles to be similar to Kompany due to the relationship they had at both Anderlecht and Burnley. This makes me think that he’ll be much more progressive as a tactician. It’s actually a very forward thinking appointment in my opinion. Much more than people are giving credit for.

Cai, 25, from Caernarfon, who works as a freelance content producer for Spotify and ESPN, also thinks we will see the best of Brennan Johnson under the stewardship of the former speedster.

“I expect Brennan to have a much more influential role and to be picking up the ball in much more dangerous areas,” he says. “Bellamy will know what to do with him. Nathan Tella’s performance for Burnley in 22/23 is a key example of that.”

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