Euro 2024 qualifiers: Wales boss Page says 'only positives' will come from Mooney talks

Former captain Robert Page led Wales to their first World Cup since 1958 last year

Wales boss Robert Page says "only positives" will come from recent talks with Football Association of Wales (FAW) chief executive Noel Mooney.

Pressure on Page increased during Wales' Euro 2024 qualifiers when Mooney said the team had to win games.

A subsequent triumph over Croatia turned around Wales' fortunes.

Page, Mooney and FAW president Steve Williams have since met with the team boss saying he would not reveal meeting details, but "it needed to be had".

Mooney has described that meeting as a "positive, productive discussion".

Page said: "There was things said that needed to be said and we all want the same outcome.

"We all want to be successful for Wales and win games of football and qualify for major tournaments.

"And there's a process that goes along with that with introducing these young players I'm doing again now and everybody understands that. There's a clear understanding of what's needed for the future."

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Page was speaking to the media in the wake of announcing the Wales squad to face Armenia and Turkey in remaining Euro qualifiers that are crucial to their hopes of automatically reaching the tournament in France.

He said he and Mooney were due to meet again after that press conference

"Nothing changes. We want to continue to win games," added Page.

The manager had been under huge pressure following defeats by Armenia and Turkey early in the qualification campaign, on the back of a disappointing World Cup.

But that 15 October victory over Croatia means Wales are now second in the group, six points behind Turkey, but with a game in hand.

Croatia are level with Wales on 10 points, but Page's team would finish ahead of the 2018 World Cup finalists based on head-to-head results if the teams finish tied in a qualifying place in the group standings.

Prior to the Croatia game Mooney said a newspaper story which suggested the FAW had planned to replace Page with former Manchester United captain Roy Keane was "complete baloney". Page is under contract until 2026.

Wales were fourth in Group D when Mooney had said the governing body would not make any "knee-jerk" decisions over Page's future, but added the team had to win games.

Speaking before the Croatia game, Wales captain Ben Davies described comments about Page by Mooney as "not helpful", while Page himself was clearly emotional before and after the match when addressing questions about his future.

Immediately after the Croatia win, Page revealed he had not spoken to Mooney "for about five weeks", although did say he had received a text message wishing him luck on the afternoon of the game.

As he spoke about the forthcoming games against Armenia and Turkey, Page said Mooney's pre-Croatia comments had been "unnecessary".

But he added: "That's it and we move forward, so we've dealt with it.

"We're in a great place and full focus is now all on the football so I don't want to waste any more time speaking about it, we've dealt with it.

"We're all on the same page. We all know what we've got to do.

"It'd be disrespectful from me now if I continue to keep talking about it to the players.

"Let's just focus on the players and let them get on with their job of winning games of football."

Wales face Armenia in Yerevan on Saturday, 18 November, then host group leaders Turkey three days later in Cardiff.

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