Ryan Giggs has defended the decision for his Wales squad to train in England at Manchester United’s Carrington base.
Wales will train at United’s state-of-the-art Aon Training Complex before the Wrexham friendly with Trinidad & Tobago on March 20, four days before their opening Euro 2020 qualifier against Slovakia in Cardiff.
The Football Association of Wales have spent around £5million expanding Wrexham’s former training ground at Colliers Park into a national football development centre.
🏗 Construction has begun today on the new National Football Development Centre at Colliers Park in #Wrexham.— FA WALES (@FAWales) August 22, 2018
But the project has still to be completed, so United great Giggs used his Old Trafford contacts – “I spoke to (executive vice-chairman) Ed (Woodward) and Ole (Gunnar Solskjaer) was fine with it” – for his squad to train on a 108-acre site boasting 14 pitches of varying sizes.
But the move has not been welcomed by many fans on social media, who argue Giggs’ squad should prepare in Wales and not across the border.
“I can understand a little the criticisms, but my job is to prepare the squad as best I can and, without a shadow of a doubt, this is the best way,” Wales manager Giggs said.
“I wanted to play the game in Wrexham because something I recognised when I took the job was that north Wales was not getting enough games.
“I went to see Colliers Park last month and it is a great facility.
“But the pitches are not quite ready and our options were Liverpool, Everton and Manchester United.”
Giggs said he spoke to several players about training at Carrington next week.
He said the choice was “unanimously” supported, and that United’s facilities were at the other end of the scale to what he was often used to during his Wales playing career.
“I played on school pitches, and the whole school was watching and waiting,” Giggs said.
“I played on a prison pitch under Bobby (Gould), those were some of the frustrations I had to endure.
“It was a lot of frustration but things got better under Sparky (Mark Hughes) and then Gary (Speed) and Cookie (Chris Coleman).
“But that just can’t happen at international level. I had an excuse and I can’t give players excuses.
“I’ve spoken to Gareth Bale and he’s happy about it, and someone like Ben Davies was excited for himself and the younger players. I’m preparing the game as best I can.”
Bale’s future in Spain looks bleak with disgruntled Real Madrid fans making him a scapegoat for crashing out of the Champions League and Copa del Rey, as well as trailing LaLiga leaders Barcelona by 12 points.
The return of former head coach Zinedine Zidane on Monday has also placed question marks against Bale’s future and whether he will be hugely involved for the rest of this season.
Bale was not always a favourite of Zidane during the Frenchman’s previous spell in charge at the Bernabeu, and he expressed his dismay after being left on the bench for the Champions League final last May. He came on and scored twice.
But Giggs said: “I think Gareth was playing up until that Champions League final.
“I think Gareth will play enough games, especially as the Brazilian lad (Vinicius Junior) has just been injured.
“I don’t know what he is thinking but in the past he has always said he has been happy.
“Even when he has been criticised and things have gone wrong or not gone right – he has always been happy there.”
