Watch: Rob Page’s candid first interview since leaving Wales job

In his first interview since being sacked as Wales boss, Rob Page has maintained his stance that the national side are in transition.

Speaking to Sky Sports he also said that his sacking as Wales head coach ‘hurt’, but did not come as a ‘complete surprise’.

Two days after Craig Bellamy was named as his successor, Page gave his first interview since losing his job.

The 49-year-old had a contract until 2026 but failure to qualify for Euro 2024 which coincided with a run of five wins in 22 games led to his departure last month.

Drawing with 198th ranked Gibraltar and a heavy loss to Slovakia, which saw post-match protests by Wales fans, only hastened his demise.

The fans who had made the journey to Trnava mocked the boss with chants of ‘in transition’ in reference to Page’s oft used phrase when describing his side.

Despite having a young side but with many caps and lots of international experience the former Wales boss once again repeated his insistence that Wales were in transition.

“I know the supporters never liked me saying this, but after the retirement of [Gareth] Bale and others, Wales were and are a side in transition,” he said. “We have to have some patience, lots of sides going through periods of transition – it is easier for bigger countries.”

WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH ROB PAGE

The former Sheffield United and Cardiff City defender confided that when the end came it wasn’t much of a surprise.

“It wasn’t a complete surprise, if I’m being honest,” Page told Sky Sports. “That eased it a little bit. It’s never easy, of course not, it never is when you lose your job.

“I was disappointed. I was a supporter in the stands when I saw Ian Rush score the goal against Germany and we beat them 1-0. I was lucky enough to play, captain and then manage my country, which was the icing on the cake so I’m a very passionate, proud Welshman so of course it’s going to hurt when the job is taken away from you.”

As for new boss Bellamy, Page had some salient advice – while wondering whether there were forces at play within the FAW outside of his control.

“You’ve got to stick to the plan,” he said. “If you’re emotional, and you make decisions based on whatever facts that are presented to you, it’s going to be a long, tough ride.

“I wish Craig all the best as I want what’s best for Wales, and the board and the chief exec feel it’s the right time for change. I would love to still be in the job, of course, but I’m not going to sit here and cry about it.

“I need to get on with it and look forward to my next challenge. I’m not sure if I was undermined. I can’t control anything that was outside of the environment that we created inside. That’s all I could control and focus on. What people on the board and the chief exec decide to do, I can’t control that.

“I wish I could show you some of the messages from the players and staff… it’s been incredible. That means the world to me as that means we were doing something right.”