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Fletcher to skipper young Wales

Tue 27 May, 09:45 PM


Carl Fletcher will captain Wales for the first time against Iceland on Wednesday night to end a difficult personal season on a high note.The 28-year-old, born in Bournemouth but with a Welsh grandmother from Ebbw Vale, has been a peripheral figure at Crystal Palace this season since Neil Warnock took over as manager and almost got the south Londoners into the Championship play-off final.

But Fletcher, who will win his 29th cap in charge of a youthful Wales side in Reykjavik, could well find himself on his way out of Selhurst Park soon.

He says: "This season has not gone as well as I would have liked. A new manager has come in and changed a few things about. The team started winning and it was hard to get back into the starting line-up.

"But as a whole, the club had a good season, almost getting to the play-off final, and although I would have liked to have played more when you are in this situation you must get your head down and keep working.

"I don't know what my future is. One day you can be settled and the next you may have to move 300 miles somewhere else. I have a year left on my contract so I will have to see how things go.

"Maybe things have not worked out the way I would like. Different managers have different ideas, and people play different ways.

"Each to their own. Some players can get the hump and slag off the manager, but that is not the way I do things. It is up to me to put the work in and I am a strong believer that in the end things will turn around.

"You get out what you put in. You may start playing again or you may have to move on somewhere else."

He added: "But it was hard for the manager to change things. The side was playing well, and had been on a long, unbeaten run. He was able to use me to shore things up at the end of games to secure the points.

"How a manager uses you is up to him. You are paid well, so you must try to do it to the best of your ability.

"It has been a really tough season. Personally my life has been fine, I'm married now with a baby, so things are fine. And to top things off now by captaining Wales is a good end to the season for me."

Fletcher - Toshack's seventh skipper in four years - has previously skippered both Bournemouth and Palace. He takes the captain's armband because Simon Davies is unfit and Craig Bellamy is unlikely to start the match as he recovers from a stomach operation.

Fletcher admitted to being shocked to be given the job of leading his country. He said: "I was a bit stunned, and a bit nervous, but it is a great honour and I am really looking forward to it. It is the ambition of anyone who plays for his country.

"I feel pretty old these days in this squad, with so many youngsters around. But it is a true honour and a nice day for me and my family.

"I have captained Bournemouth and Crystal Palace, but this is a different level.

"I will try to do the best I can, play my own game, and try to help anyone out who needs it."

Toshack said: "Carl has always done a good job for me and has never let Wales down. It is an honour well deserved."

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