Robert Page: Speculation over Wales manager's future 'a big distraction' - Gabbidon

Wales manager Robert Page admits he is "sick and tired" of having to keep talking about his future

Speculation surrounding the future of Wales manager Robert Page was "a big distraction" before last week's game with Croatia, says Danny Gabbidon.

There were reports the Football Association of Wales (FAW) was already targeting potential successors.

Wales beat Group D rivals Croatia 2-1 in Cardiff to keep their Euro 2024 qualifying hopes alive.

"What happened in the lead up to the game really wasn't needed at all," former Wales defender Gabbidon said.

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Before the crucial Croatia match, Wales captain Ben Davies said comments about Page by FAW chief executive Noel Mooney were "not helpful".

Before the preceding friendly against Gibraltar, Mooney said the governing body will not make any "knee-jerk" decisions over Page's future, but added the team must keep winning games.

In 2022 Page became the first man to lead Wales to a World Cup since 1958, but then saw his side tumble out at the group stage in Qatar.

That was followed by a disappointing start to this Euro 2024 qualifying campaign - including defeats by Armenia and Turkey in June - that saw Page's leadership come under the spotlight.

After the win over Croatia that saw Wales leapfrog them into second in their group, Page admitted he was "sick and tired of having to keep coming on and talk about my future".

Gabbidon told Elis James' Feast Of Football podcast that Mooney had not helped the situation.

"You know how big the game was, and the players are trying to focus on it, the manager as well, and he's (Page) going into press conferences, and he's being asked about this, he's being asked about that (his future)," Gabbidon said.

"It was a big distraction. Noel is someone who's quite open... when he talks. He speaks on social media a lot, and you know you can ask him questions and he'll try to answer them. He's that kind of person.

"But sometimes you've probably got to rein it in at certain points and understand the magnitude of the situation that was going on with that game coming up, and he (Mooney) probably would've been best not to really be saying too much at all.

"You can see that it affected the manager, it affected the players - probably in a positive way in the end. Certainly with the players - the players are coming out and backing the manager.

"You look at Ben Davies after the game, the kind of team talk after the game. He's a pretty quiet lad, Ben, he will speak up when he feels... something's not quite right. So he came out in the press speaking about it, and it just wasn't an ideal situation.

"It was unnecessary pressure on the manager - a manager that has done an excellent job, coming in difficult circumstances, transition in the team, still qualifying us for major tournaments.

"And then yes, the World Cup was disappointing and that would have knocked the confidence of everyone a little bit, and we come back off the back of that we've lost big players (to retirement).

"We've had some iffy results, but the way the team has responded and the manager's responded the last couple of games has shown everything that I think Robert Page is about.

"You ask any of the players and they have full respect for him. They'll run through brick walls for him, they love him as a person. So you could see that hurt the players a bit, some of the things that were being said in the week, and it was great to see the show of solidarity between the players and the staff."

Page's fellow former Wales international Iwan Roberts, speaking on the same podcast, said Mooney would not be doing his job if he was not planning for a future beyond Page given the poor run of results, but said that process should be kept behind closed doors.

"Before we won away in Latvia we'd only won two of our last 14 competitive games. We'd lost nine of those 14 competitive games," ex-striker Roberts said.

"That brings pressure on itself to a manager. Something's got to happen. Something's got to change. I haven't got a problem with Noel Mooney if he's thinking, 'Well, I've given him a four-year contract but it's not working'. And those statistics might sort of point to it's not quite working under Page.

"He's (Mooney) got to have a plan B, just in case they get rid of Robert. So I haven't got a problem if he sort of having a look what's out there, because I think if he if he doesn't do that, he's not doing his job properly.

"My problem is for him to come out in an interview and publicly and say that. Those sort of things should be kept private."

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