Allen: 'Giggs the right man for the job'

Aftter Wales lost 1-0 to Albania in Elbasan on Tuesday, Gigg's side were confirmed to have finished second in their Nations League group, missing the chance to secure promotion to the top tier of the competition. 

Manager Giggs was highly critical of his players after the match, as they had lost to a team 42 places below them in the FIFA rankings. 

Yet Stoke City midfielder Joe Allen has jumped to defend his national team coach, who has overseen a changing of the guard in his 10 months in charge.

Of Giggs, Allen stated: "It's been a great experience for everyone since he's come in. A lot of new ideas have come into the camp and many players have had the chance to get game time and try and impress."

Allen continued: "We've spoken a lot about the youngsters that have come into the set up, and that's what has given us a lot of confidence about the future. We can't wait for the [Euro] qualifiers in March, it's a few months away and this was our last chance to be together before then."

The midfielder also took time to call for focus when national duty resumes in the new year, adding: "Our task now as players is to make sure we're ready to fire when those games come around. We're excited to see who we'll be up against."

Reading player Chris Gunter became the record appearance holder for Wales in Albania, securing his 93 cap and overtaking Neville Southall as the outright record holder.

He is also confident that the future is bright for Wales, in spite of failing to earn Nations League promotion. 

Gunter added: ""On the whole the calendar year has been a good one for us.  We'll come back now in March and we'll be ready to go for the European qualifiers, which is a very important time. We're confident that we will have a good go at qualification. We're hurting right now, but I think we're in a good position for the Euros."