Jones was interviewed for Wales head coach role

Matty Jones succeeded Paul Bodin as Wales Under-21 boss

Matty Jones says his ultimate goal is to be a senior manager after revealing he was interviewed for the Wales job before Craig Bellamy’s appointment in July.

Jones is aiming to make Welsh football history by leading his Wales Under-21 side to the 2025 European Under-21 Championship.

The ex-Wales midfielder, 44, extended his contract in August, meaning he will stay on as under-21 boss until 2028.

But Jones wants to follow in the footsteps of former senior managers Gary Speed, Ryan Giggs, Chris Coleman, Rob Page and current head coach Bellamy.

“They have all been my team-mates, so to support them in their roles has been incredible,” Jones told the Feast of Football podcast.

“I did have the luxury of being interviewed for the senior role [before Bellamy was appointed] and I think that was an unbelievable experience for me.

“But what came from it was that I need to prove myself, and probably the only ways I can prove myself as a manager are by making history and qualifying with our under-21s group, or leaving the FAW (Football Association of Wales) and going elsewhere to prove myself.”

Llanelli-born Jones, who played club football for Leeds United and Leicester City, won 13 Wales caps before being forced to retire through injury when aged just 23.

He coached at Swansea City’s academy prior to joining the FAW, where he had stints with Wales Under-18s and the senior women’s side before taking charge of the men’s under-21s in September 2022.

Jones’ team will qualify for next year’s Euros, which are being held in Slovakia, if they better Denmark’s result in the final round of qualifying group games.

Wales take on Czech Republic in Newport on Friday, 11 October, while the Danes face Iceland four days later.

Jones says he and his squad have “a real purpose to achieve something” this month – and believes securing a tournament place would boost his chances of becoming a senior manager.

“That ultimately has got to be my goal,” he added.

“To achieve that I’ve got to be able to prove [myself] to people, so hopefully I am doing the right things at the moment to highlight that.”

The full Feast of Football episode featuring Matty Jones is available here.