Gary Speed appointed Wales' new manager

To begin with, Gary Speed wasn't even interested. He'd only recently been appointed manager of Sheffield United although he'd been with the club for a number of years, first as a player and then as a coach.

But when Ryan Giggs yet again turned down the chance to become Wales' manager, the Welsh FA turned to an inexperienced manager whose club are near the bottom of the Championship.

A number of people are believed to have applied for the job. Brian Flynn, the caretaker-manager of Wales for their two most recent matches, was the choice of the players and was interested in remaining in the job. Chris Coleman and John Hartson were also thought to have been very keen. Chris was the most experienced Welsh candidate while John had none at all. Lars Lagerback was also interviewed for the position whilst other managers linked with the job included Martin O'Neill.

But it seemed FA Wales were looking for a star rather than an experienced manager and, after holding interviews, they made the decision to approach Gary Speed - and he accepted their offer to become manager of Wales.

It's true he's a Welsh legend and he could inspire the players, as no doubt Ryan Giggs would have done - and although his managerial track record is not particularly good, he does have experience as a coach. The younger Welsh internationals (which to be fair is most of them) will remember him as a star. He's just not that experienced or that successful as a manager and that could turn out to be a disadvantage.

I really hope it works out for Gary and he has my full support. I hope the unsuccessful candidates won't be too disappointed. Brian Flynn certainly has reason to be, although he clearly loves working with and developing young players and there will be more opportunities for him to do this at under-21 level and lower. Chris Coleman has also been offered another job but he'd decided not to accept it until he knew whether or not he's got the Welsh job. It looks like he'll be managing Greek side Larissa then.

As for Wales, we have a Welsh manager who loves his country. That's not something every country can claim.


Gary Speed's career in pictures.

Gary says he has taken a pay cut in order to manage Wales. It's always good finding people like that in the world of football.

Gary says one of his first jobs will be to try to coax Welsh players out of international retirement. That might actually be a harder job than beating England but some of those players could well be his friends so maybe he can do it.

Gary says Wales have nothing to lose. Well, we can lose the rest of the games which would also mean finishing bottom of the group but I do see what he means.

Former Wales manager Mark Hughes, who was linked with a return to the role, believes Gary will do a great job.