"I Got My Arse Kicked": Bellamy Embraces England Defeat as Wake-Up Call for Wales

“I got my arse kicked,” admitted Craig Bellamy after Wales’ 3-0 defeat to England at Wembley.

The Wales head coach would not have it any other way. In his usual honest and ruthless fashion, he suggested that the result was not seen as a failure but as a vital reality check.

“There’s no such thing as friendlies,” he insisted. Bellamy chose to have this test; in his ideology it is you have to play the best in order to improve and get to the next level. “I’d like our egos to be hurt. I’d like us to be annoyed,” he added. “It’s why I wanted this game. We need to see where we are.”

The 46-year-old could have scheduled a more winnable fixture against a lesser opponent in the rankings; however, he chose to face one of the world’s strongest sides, and relished every second of it.

“We can play Lithuania if you want, and that’s no disrespect to them, but we’d have loads of the ball and then try to break them down. It’s where do we want to go? Who do we want to be?”

His post-game tone was focused and considered, notably not angry at his players. “I quite enjoyed half-time,” he claimed. “Now we see. It shows who you are as a coach. You can come in bawling and throwing stuff, but to who? It makes no sense. Me, I'm calm.”

The Bellamy message is unwavering; defeat like this against elite opposition is simply part of the process. “Once you get your arse kicked, you learn the most. And I got my arse kicked.”

With a crucial World Cup qualifier against Belgium awaiting Wales on Monday, the real test now lies ahead. “Monday’s a different game,” he claimed. “I’m already looking forward to it.”

Bellamy knows exactly where he wants to take this young Welsh team and, despite this setback, exactly how he is going to get them there.

The focus now shifts to Monday under the lights at the Cardiff City Stadium, where Craig Bellamy will be hoping to lead his side to a huge result against Belgium in his quest to guide Wales to back-to-back World Cup appearances for the first time in their history.