Speed wants mentality change

Gary Speed confessed that Wales would need to learn from their defeat to England after being 'killed' by Frank Lampard's early goal.

Lampard scored from the penalty spot after just seven minutes to demoralise the hosts in Saturday's crucial Euro 2012 qualifier at the Millennium Stadium.

Darren Bent quickly doubled England's advantage and Speed admitted after the match that his men found it difficult to regroup.

However, he felt there were positives to take from the way Wales battled hard in the second half in an effort to get back into the game.

Having now lost their first four games of the campaign, Speed believes the most important facet for the players to address is their state of mind.

"I was disappointed with the first-half performance," Speed told Sky Sports.

"We are a developing team and we are used to getting beat really and we haven't got that winning mentality at the moment.

"To lose a goal in the first few minutes killed us and for the next 20 or 25 minutes we struggled a bit."

Speed added: "The way we came out in the second half and tried to play and get on the ball, showed some spirit which bodes well for the future.

"Like I say we are a developing team and hopefully a year down the line we will look at this game and have learned a lot from it."

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Speed smooths over Bale row with Redknapp

Wales manager Gary Speed has moved to avoid a potential club-versus-country row by describing a dispute with Harry Redknapp over the fitness of Gareth Bale as a "misunderstanding".

Bale has been ruled out of Saturday's Euro 2012 qualifier against England with a hamstring injury, and Speed said on Thursday that the winger had picked up the problem at Spurs prior to his arrival with the national team.

However, Redknapp was adamant the winger was feeling fine after completing 90 minutes for Tottenham in their goalless draw against West Ham at the weekend.

"I wouldn't have let him go if he had an injury," Redknapp told the Daily Mail. "Gareth played for 90 minutes against West Ham on Saturday and they tell me the figures from that game show he covered more ground than he's ever done before.

"There was no sign of a hamstring injury. He's not come in after the game and said his hamstrings were tight. When he left here on Saturday, off he went and he certainly wasn't injured.

"He hasn't had a hamstring injury. He had a back, then he had a tight thigh and we've been very careful with him. Now he's got a hamstring. He must've done it with Wales. I'm not blaming anyone. It's no one's fault."

However, Speed explained in his press conference on Friday: "I haven't spoken to Harry. We swapped telephone messages and everything is fine. It was a misunderstanding so that has been nipped in the bud and that is fine."

It is the second time that Wales have been forced to clarify their position to avoid angering Tottenham, with Speed's assistant Raymond Verheijen having to state that a reference to "incompetent amateurs" on his Twitter account was directed at journalists who reported Bale trained on Wednesday, rather than the Premier League club.

Meanwhile, with Tottenham's Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid less than a fortnight away, Redknapp is hopeful Bale will be ready after a week's rest, although he admits there is a risk of further aggravating the injury.

"The first I heard of it was at 10 o'clock on Wednesday night when our physio called me," Redknapp said. "I feared the worst but he's seen our physio and it's only tightness. There's no tear but if he plays and it pings, he's had it."

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Gareth Bale's injury is a hammer blow to Gary Speed

As well as his very obvious talent as a cultured yet combative midfielder, Gary Speed was blessed with the durability that enabled him to set a Barclays Premier League appearance record. David James eventually beat it, but Speed notched up 535 games before dropping down a division then going into management. Here in Cardiff on Thursday, the  41-year-old manager of Wales had to deal with the loss of a player who is proving rather more fragile and someone whose absence has changed the whole complexion of Saturday's European Championship qualifier with England. Centre of attention: Gareth Bale's withdrawal from the Wales clash with England is a major boost to Fabio Capello Speed was fairly philosophical about Gareth Bale's latest injury, making the very sensible point that the player's welfare comes first and that 'it is more about the next three-and-a-half years than the next three-and-a-half days'. Understandably, with players like Bale and Aaron Ramsey emerging, he hashis sights on the 2014 World Cup. But you could sense Speed's frustration, even if he did dismiss suggestions that Welsh were being over-protective and that Bale might be one of those players who is so finely tuned the slightest niggle convinces him he cannot play. Hot Spur: Tottenham are concerned by Bale's injury record Harry Redknapp has certainly sensed that in the 21-year-old, which is why the Tottenham manager has been known to stop the physio running on when the winger appears to be injured. Speed did joke that he could probablyhave played with Bale's injury, although only because he was nothing like as 'explosive'. But he also said he expected Bale to be fit to playas early as next week in time for the first leg of Spurs' Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid. 'I understand what you're saying,' said Speed in response to a question about Bale's fragility. 'But the scan did show there is an injury.' Clearly, though, even the Welsh medical staff were not convinced there was a serious problem. The scan, said Speed, was ordered for Bale's 'peace of mind' and you sense there was an element of  surprise when it did come back showing minor damage to that incredibly well-defined hamstring. The row that developed between Tottenham and the Welsh FA was rather baffling. Speed was the model of diplomacy, and he had to be after some dangerously ambiguous tweets fromhis assistant Raymond Verheijen. While Redknapp is perfectly entitled to believe Bale was not injured after playing 90 minutes at the weekend,the Welsh can hardly be accused of causing the problem when the youngster doesn't appear to have kicked a ball since joining his international colleagues. He sat out their sessions on Sunday and Monday, suffered discomfort in the warm-up on Tuesday and sat out Wednesday's session as well. Verheijen did not exactly help matters by complaining of 'incompetent amateurs'. Speed insisted it was directed at the newspaper that had reported Bale's injury as something he had suffered in training on Wednesday. But Spurs would be perfectly entitled to think the insult was directed at them. Speed confirmed his assistant had been reminded of his responsibility to the Welsh FA and told to pack it in. And rightly so. 'Funny to read about Gareth Bale injuring his hamstring in training,' Verheijen tweeted. In England maybe, but not in Wales. Plan of action: Fabio Capello has been boosted by the news of Bale's injury With news filtering through to the England camp of Bale's injury, things certainly seemed to be more relaxed. Fabio Capello was concerned about thethreat posed by Bale. He considers him 'the best player in the world', and while Peter Crouch was right to argue that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo remain superior, how to best deal with a player who destroyed Inter Milan earlier this season was going to dominate England's preparation. Long-term plan: Gary Speed will miss Bale but is confident his impact on Welsh football will stretch further than this weekend Now the pressure is off a fair bit, and having been banned from playing golf by Capello on Wednesday the England players were back on the course on Thursday. Everyone bar Ben Foster, who has a fever, was also said to be fit, allowing Capello to continue experimenting with a number of attacking options. It is fair to say thatBale's presence would have almost certainly seen James Milner deployed as protection for Glen Johnson on the right. Now England can afford to be a bit more cavalier, Aaron Lennon might play there. Capello is still considering his options up front as well. Andy  Carroll's lack of first-team games has persuaded him to examine Darren Bent as well as partner to Wayne Rooney.A decision will be made today but the Aston Villa striker is a serious contender.   On Thursday Gareth Barry said life under Capello had become less intense since the World Cup and the players were not quite so intimidated by the Italian. 'On the training pitch nothing has changed,' he said. 'He's still pretty hands-on. If there's anything not right he's stamping down on it. But maybe around the hotel he's maybe a bit more relaxed, and the players seem a bit more relaxed around the manager. 'Players used to arrive 20 minutes before a meeting. There was more pressure on the players to be everywhere at spot on the right time. Now I think the  feeling around the place is a lot more relaxed and more enjoyable.' With Bale out that was certainly the case.  It's your fault! Gareth Bale was fine when he went to join Wales, claims Harry RedknappYou're kidding: Wilshere and Carroll caught up in club-versus-country rowFabio Capello's five key questions ahead of England's Euro 2012 clash with WalesCaptain Rambo! Ramsey to skipper Wales on his return against England VIDEO SPECIAL: Wales 4 England 1 - day Greenwood's men were run ragged ] Explore more:People: Fabio Capello, Glen Johnson, Harry Redknapp, Gareth Barry, Aaron Lennon, Lionel Messi, Gary Speed, Darren Bent, Cristiano Ronaldo, Peter Crouch, David James, Wayne Rooney, James Milner, Gareth Bale, Ben Foster Places: Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom

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Speed - No Spurs bust-up

You don't put any blame on Spurs at all, because he played 90 minutes on Saturday and he got through 90 minutes.

Gary Speed on Gareth Bale
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Wales manager Gary Speed insists that there has not been a breakdown in the relationship with Tottenham in the wake of Gareth Bale's injury.

The Spurs winger has been ruled out of Saturday's Euro 2012 qualifier against England in Cardiff after pulling out of a training session on Tuesday due to a pre-existing hamstring injury, before missing Wednesday's session in order to go for a scan.

There had been conflicting reports as to when Bale sustained the injury and Speed's assistant manager, Raymond Verheijen, mentioning 'incompetent amateurs' on Twitter was interpreted as referring to Tottenham.

But Verheijen has since clarified his statements and Speed is adamant that there has been no fallout with Spurs, who played Bale for the entire 90 minutes of last weekend's draw with West Ham in what was only his third match since returning from a back injury.

Speed, who has named Arsenal's Aaron Ramsey as Wales captain, said at a press conference broadcast live on Sky Sports News on Thursday when asked if Dutchman Verheijen's tweets had been helpful: "Not at the present time, no.

"I think there was a bit of confusion there, because I think what was reported was that Gareth had pulled his hamstring in training yesterday.

"But obviously that reporting wasn't correct because he didn't train yesterday. We do take a lot of time and effort into making sure our players are right.

"So when something is reported like that, it is not right."

Asked whether Verheijen's 'incompetent amateurs' comment referred to Tottenham, Speed said: "In no way did it refer to Tottenham, that's a given.

"I can understand how it might be portrayed that it was. But I think the fact that it was reported that Gareth had done his hamstring in training yesterday when he didn't train yesterday, that is the incompetent bit."

Speed's priority at the Millennium Stadium will be to collect three points after the former Sheffield United manager inherited a side who have lost their opening three matches in European qualifying.

But he has admitted the confusion surrounding Bale has been 'disappointing' after previously dedicating time to send his head of performance to visit Tottenham and other clubs in order to build a positive working relationship.

Speed, though, does not think that there has been any lasting damage, as he said when asked to clarify his disappointment: "It is because we have taken so much time in building those relationships, this unfortunate thing is a total misunderstanding.

"So it is nothing we have done to break that relationship, it is nothing that Spurs have done. It has just been a misunderstanding."

Speed added with regards to Bale's injury: "You don't put any blame on Spurs at all, because he played 90 minutes on Saturday and he got through 90 minutes.

"He has come to us and we have assessed him. Maybe, if we hadn't been so thorough in our looking after him, perhaps he would be training and he would have played.

"But what we don't want is him to play and break down. The players' welfare is of paramount importance and that is what has happened."

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