Craig

Craig Bellamy laughs when asked about Rubin Colwill, the 23-year-old forward currently impressing for Cardiff City.

“He’s big for you, isn’t he?,” Bellamy asks the reporter who brings up his name.

Not that Bellamy is not a fan of the nine-cap midfielder, to the contrary.

However, Colwill has not always featured in Bellamy’s Wales squads despite playing a starring role in Cardiff’s League One promotion bid and their quarter-final EFL Cup run.

“Rubin is able, there’s still one or two bits that we need more from, but he’s capable,” insists Bellamy who has plenty of other reasons to be a regular at Cardiff City Stadium.

“For the first time in a long, long time, I’ve really enjoyed coming away from Cardiff games with a smile,” he added.

“Last year was difficult, the atmosphere was down, but now I get to see a number of Welsh young players playing in a way I like.

“I only see them improving and selfishly I just see that this is going to benefit the country, so I’m over the moon with that.”

It has been suggested that McKenna would be open to speaking to Celtic given his boyhood allegiances.

“Growing up, we all have our affinities,” he said when asked about those. “I don’t think everyone has to go around and announce what they were, but of course it’s a really big football club.”

McKenna signed a new four-year contract in 2024 and was asked about his reported £5m release clause.

“In every manager’s contract, there are things,” he replied. “I don’t know what mine are and, if I did, I wouldn’t tell you anyway!

“I approach this job like I’ll be Ipswich manager forever. I know that’s not always going to be the case, but I’ll always do my best as long as I am here.”

Bellamy played for Celtic on loan from Newcastle United in 2005, but the former Wales striker is minded to complete the current World Cup campaign, a stance that would effectively rule out the 46-year-old from immediately taking the Celtic job.

Wales are currently third in their qualifying group behind leaders Belgium and second-placed North Macedonia.

Victories over Liechtenstein and North Macedonia in November would book their place in the qualification play-offs, but they are all but assured of making those, thanks to a successful Nations League campaign, even if they fail to finish as Group J runners-up.

Given his current stance, Bellamy, whose contract expires after Euro 2028, would not be available until after the play-offs at the earliest.

Balvinder Sopal has opened up about ending up in the bottom two on Strictly Come Dancing two weeks in a row

EastEnders actress Balvinder Sopal has spoken candidly about landing in the dance off on Strictly Come Dancing for two consecutive weeks, confessing she felt “crushed” following the most recent results programme.

The soap star joined her dancing partner Julian Callion on Tuesday’s (21 October) edition of It Takes Two, where they discussed the tense dance off with presenter Fleur East.

“My heart just sank. I felt quite disappointed. I thought we’d done enough to come back after the week previous, where we were were again, bottom two,” Balvinder admitted. “Yeah, I was crushed.”

Fleur, a former Strictly contestant from 2022, expressed empathy with Balvinder’s situation, remarking: “Yeah, it is such a crushing feeling.”

Julian, making his debut as a professional on the programme, explained how he comforted Balvinder when the results were announced, reports Wales Online.

“To be honest, I didn’t really say much because we’d actually just been in there seven days ago. I think in those situations where it’s high pressure, it’s high stress, sometimes the more you say and the more you try to think, the worse it is,” Julian said.

He added: “I definitely don’t think we were there based on dance ability or anything.”

The pair went head to head with rugby star Chris Robshaw and his partner Nadiya Bychkova in the elimination showdown, with both couples having garnered the fewest public votes.

The judges voted to save Balvinder, with Craig Revel Horwood having the deciding vote on the night, following a new rule which stops head judge Shirley Ballas having the deciding vote every single week.

“The new rules meant that Craig saved you. How did that feel?” Fleur asked Balvinder, who plays Suki Panesar in BBC One’s EastEnders.

The actress issued a heartfelt message to Craig, who is known for his harsh criticism and low scores on the BBC show, after he saved her due to her “quality” and “technical ability”.

“Oh, I mean, I am so grateful to Craig, actually,” Balvinder said. “And, he’s one of the scariest judges, I think. But, Sunday night, he saved us and I can’t thank him enough.”

It Takes Two airs on weeknights on BBC Two at 6.30pm. Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturday on BBC One and is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Wales’ players were crestfallen at the final whistle, glazed looks in their eyes as it dawned on them that a huge opportunity had slipped through their grasp.

Belgium’s goalless draw with North Macedonia on Friday had opened the door for Wales, who needed to win their remaining three games to finish top of Group J and qualify automatically for the World Cup.

But they fell at the first hurdle, outgunned by Belgium in another chaotic shootout after losing 4-3 in Brussels in June.

Again, Wales’ bold approach – to press and to pour forward at every opportunity – left them exposed defensively, and once again they were ruthlessly punished by Jeremy Doku, Kevin De Bruyne and the rest.

On reflection, did Bellamy feel his side were just a little too open?

“We felt the best way of being able to combat this team was to have the ball,” he answered. “And we created a lot of chances, but we felt that was the way of being able to beat this team because we needed to win.

“It was as simple as that, and you could see even towards the end, we opened up more. We lost a bit of control in the game. But I always believe the way you can stop the opposition from scoring is by having the ball.

“But that transition moment, with Jeremy, it’s so fearful every time you have the ball that if it turns over, this kid, he’s just that.

“I’ve experienced it. I had him on my team [at Anderlecht], and I knew how dangerous he was, but going against him… We knew there were going to be difficult moments in that game.”

This has been a bruising window for Bellamy, whose decision to take on England in a friendly at Wembley last Thursday was met with a mixture of scepticism, bemusement and outright criticism.

The outcome, a chastening 3-0 defeat, intensified the fans’ discontent, though they were willing to keep an open mind if it helped Wales beat Belgium.

Supporters will be less forgiving now Wales have lost – making it 12 goals conceded in five games – and seen their hopes of qualifying automatically go up in smoke.

But nothing will deter Bellamy, unshakeable in his beliefs.

“I’ve seen a lot today that makes me feel we can get close to these. We can get close. We need to keep improving,” he said.

“But I told you at the start when I was going to do this. I’m going to press, and I won’t sit back. I know that goes against some people, but this is who I am.

“And today, I’ve seen a team with flaws because I have them. A team that wants to do something, because I want to. I’m grateful for that.”