Celtic’s next manager: Craig Bellamy is ‘focused on the future’, Wales insists transfer ‘isn’t on my radar’ | Soccer News

Craig Bellamy has said he remains fully focused on Wales and the World Cup play-offs amid his links with Celtic.

The Wales head coach spent a loan spell at the Hoops in 2005 and has been linked as a possible replacement after Brendan Rodgers’ decision to resign from the Scottish Champions last week.

Wales are in the middle of World Cup qualifying this month, with games against Liechtenstein and North Macedonia, and are due to play in the play-offs in March.

“I couldn’t ask for more than what I have at the moment, and that’s the treasure for me,” he said.

“Anything else is not on my radar and will never be on my radar.

“I played there, so I understand that connection. I’m a coach, so I definitely understand that connection, but for me, I love what I’m doing in this moment, I have to be honest.

“I’m completely focused on what’s going to happen.

“It’s going to be the playoffs in March, I know that, and for me, that’s all I’m focused on. I know it’s a little cliche, but that’s the honest truth.”

The 46-year-old has been unbeaten in nine games for Wales since taking over in July 2024, with the team losing three of their last four games in all competitions.

Asked whether his stance on the Celtic vacancy could change if the club were prepared to wait for him, Bellamy insisted he would remain in Wales for as long as required.

“I still have many years to play. I signed a four-year contract,” he added.

“Now I know the game too. You might get tired of me after a short period of time. That’s the reality.”

“But as long as I’m needed and as long as I feel the people of Wales can add to me, that’s what motivates me. Then I stay. You always have to be careful. I’m trying to live one day at a time. It’s not necessarily wise, but it makes sense to me.”

“I try to be grateful for what I have. This moment is one of the best in my life and hopefully it lasts much longer.”

Bellamy asks another reporter about Wales’ future

Sky Sports News’ Geraint Hughes analyzes this as follows:

“The tone was a little different to Craig Bellamy’s press conference on Wednesday, where it was about him and his future rather than about the players he picked, his opponents, how the team was doing or his thoughts on football.

“In the 16 months since he took over as Wales’ head coach, he prefers to be called the manager, all the questions about him have been about his style of football, the identity he wants for the team, his history with Vincent Kompany at Anderlecht and Burnley. There was a lot of personal insight, but it was all about him and Wales. Perhaps it’s no surprise that the club is in this case after a very decent 16 months in his first job as ‘number one’. Celtic – Interested in Bellamy following Brendan Rodgers’ departure.

“How did Bellamy answer a question about his future? Not what I expected! He’s not shy about answering what could be described as ‘awkward’ questions, so I expected him to be candid about his relationship with Celtic, but in modern football, where you’re always hedging your bets and never overcommitting or undercommitting, his response to my question about Celtic surprised me a bit.

“He went above and beyond what he probably should have done to eliminate the possibility of him leaving Wales and being lured to Celtic in the near future. He spoke about his love for his current job and how it has helped him develop an even deeper love for the game of Wales and his native Wales. He spoke privately about how this job makes him happy and that he is probably at one of the best times of his life.

“After Bellamy’s initial answer to my question about his association with Celtic, silence ensued as everyone present accepted his response. Then myself and about 25 others hit furiously on our laptops, taking notes on what he said and confirming things we never dreamed of.

‘Aaron Ramsey’s future away from Celtic has been a hot topic. His future with the club in Mexico is not clear, but Bellamy is now appealing for people to think about Ramsey as a person rather than a footballer. Injuries have plagued him for much of the past few years, but things don’t seem to be going well for Pumas in Mexico. Bellamy has admitted that Ramsey is still injured, and as Bellamy was keen to point out, family is more important than football.

“The mysterious disappearance of Mr Ramsay’s dog Halo, sadly presumed dead, has clearly had a huge impact on him, his wife and children, who had moved to Mexico to be with him.

“Bellamy ended his press conference by alluding to the famous former Liverpool manager Bill Shankly’s quote: ‘Some people think football is a matter of life and death… but I can tell you it’s much more serious than that.’ Bellamy told everyone in attendance that he understood that Shankly, one of his heroes, was probably not being completely serious, but that was no longer the way he saw football. For him and others, there were more important things in life.”