ROBERT PAGE is still haunted by Wales’ humiliating Euro 2024 qualifying defeat to Armenia in June.
The 4-2 summer home Cardiff loss has turned the heat up on Page’s future as the Dragons now face a huge mountain to climb to qualify for the finals in Germany.
Page knows only a win in the Group D clash with Latvia in Riga on September 11 in Riga will erase those painful memories and keep their Euro dream alive.
Page said: “It has been a long couple of months. You can’t address and deal with the things that weren’t right.
“All the players went off on holiday and I had staff meetings and we went through the clips of the game and identified areas we need to address.
“Armenia wasn’t acceptable and we deserve all the criticism in the world. I take full responsibility.
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“We don’t want results like we had against Armenia and that’s the one that has haunted me.
“It is probably the first test I’ve had. Ever since taking over everything has been rosy.
“We’ve had success, promotions, qualifications, and this is the first time that I’ve felt time dragging.
“I can’t wait and I’ll be putting a positive slant on things when they come into camp because there has been nothing but positivity over the last few years.
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“We’ve just had a bad month. The Armenia game is the one that will haunt us. We’ll address it on Sunday night when we meet up.”
Page received a vote of confidence from Football Association of Wales chief executive Noel Mooney despite the shocking result but a section of fans want the 48-year-old out.
The ex-Watford and Sheffield United centre-back added: “That was nice to hear.
“But when I took on the job we knew it wasn’t going to happen overnight and we had to manage expectations.
“We’ve lost arguably one of the world’s best players in Gareth Bale and some big characters in Chris Gunter and Joe Allen – all significant losses.
“I’ve been in football long enough to know how nasty it can get out there on social media. I played until I was 35, so I understand what goes on.
“I understand the frustration of the supporters but there was nobody more disappointed than me after the Armenia game.
“I don’t look at social media and I don’t read any articles from ex-players because it will inevitably cloud your judgement.
“When I went into the job at Port Vale after Micky Adams left, I won the first three or four games.
“Fans were coming on to me and saying that it was the best football we’ve played. They were thanking me but I lost the next two games and it was all ‘get him out’.
“Inevitably then you are going to be influenced by negativity, and I don’t need that in my life. I just want to remain focused on the job ahead of me and that is getting three points against Latvia.
“We’re probably back to where John Toshack was, trying to find the next group coming through, developing and evolving.
“The remit is to get the next batch of kids through. It is a progression, we are evolving and we need to get caps for these players.
“I’m going to stick by what I believe in and that’s getting the young players involved. We will give it our best shot. I need to pick a team to go and get us three points in Latvia and we are back on track. “
Wales have won just one match – the 1-0 home win over Latvia in March – in their last 12 internationals including a dismal show at last year’s World Cup.
That has increased the pressure ahead of Thursday’s friendly against South Korea at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Page said: “There is pressure in every game you play.
“The reason we are under pressure is because of the expectations we have put on ourselves over the last couple of years and the standards we’ve set.
“The games we’ve won and the competitions we’ve gone into – getting into the Euros, getting promotion into the Nations League A division and then the World Cup.
“The one win in 12 is correct as a stat on paper but it frustrates me.
“Two games were against Belgium, Netherlands, Poland and we played USA, England and Iran at the World Cup. We have to have common sense looking at the fixtures.
“We’ve got to appreciate that we’ve Wales. We have had some significant players retire.
“If we are going to win games we have to manage expectations and defend like we did against Croatia and attack like we did against Latvia.
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“I want to see a reaction. I want to see us defend. That’s our identity and our foundations.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
