Gareth Bale: Wales captain shares secrets with Under-21 squad
- Published
Gareth Bale played 90 minutes for the first time in a year as Wales were beaten by Poland
Gareth Bale has shared secrets of his success with Wales' Under-21 players as they prepare to kick off a new era.
Wales face Austria in a friendly in Vienna on Tuesday (19:30 BST).
It is their first match since former Wales midfielder Matthew Jones was named head coach.
"The players are at a really good level in their careers but they haven't necessarily achieved anything yet, so to lean on inspirations [like Bale] is really important," said Jones.
Bale held a question-and-answer session with Jones' squad as part of a cap presentation.
"It was a bit of a surprise," said Brighton defender Ed Turns, Wales' recently installed Under-21 captain.
"We didn't expect to have him sitting talking with us at the team meeting, but we were glued to him.
"He was telling us how he and the senior team do things with their togetherness and how that affects their time on the pitch and it's obviously paying off. Having him around and talking to us is a special thing."
Jones says he is keen to mirror the spirit of Rob Page's World Cup-bound senior side at under-21 level.
The ex-Leeds and Leicester midfielder replaced Paul Bodin as the age-grade team's boss earlier in September.
Jones' players have shared facilities with Page's squad during a week-long camp in preparation for the Uefa Under-21 Euro 2025 qualifiers, which kick off next year.
Matthew Jones won 13 Wales caps before being forced to retire through injury at the age of just 23
"This camp has been a lot [about] of explaining my beliefs, but it's been easy because we're linking with the first team, we have players wanting to be the next Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey and Joe Allen and we can say 'this is how you do it and this is what it takes'," said Jones.
"A big part of the job is how we create an environment to help the transition from the 21s to senior, so it's narrow and seamless and quick and easy.
"We've done a lot of workshops and presentations on what our culture is and it's been well received and the players have fully engaged with it.
"We had a nice opportunity when Gareth came to speak to the players as part of a cap presentation, and a Q and A on how we create the environment we want. We knew he would be a powerful voice.
"The players can see there's no ego, we treat each other as brothers and when things are hard we back each other."
Page promoted Birmingham teenager Jordan James from Jones' squad for the Nations League defeats to Belgium and Poland.
Fulham's 17-year-old forward Luke Harris was also in the senior party, although neither youngster won a first cap.
"They would have loved to have got on the grass, but they've managed their expectations and loved being around the team," said Jones, "although they were honest - their initiation songs were poor.
"And it was great to hear the likes of Jonny Williams, Chris Gunter and Gareth making them feel part of the family.
"They will now step back into their own age group and bring back what they've been inspired by and introduce them around our squad. The link between the first team and ours will be a powerful one."
Jones says there will be a mixture of pride, emotion and excitement as he takes charge of the under-21s for the first time.
Keen to improve a frustrating record at this level, Jones added: "Rob and myself are very in line in that we want a winning mentality.
"At younger age groups it can be difficult. We've had a good opportunity to create a good competitive environment and it's up to them to make an impact."