Connor Roberts ‘disappointed’ Craig Bellamy didn’t take over at Burnley

Connor Roberts admits he would have loved to have seen Craig Bellamy in charge at Burnley.

The Wales boss appeared close to returning to Turf Moor at the end of June to succeed Scott Parker as the Clarets’ new boss.

Multiple sources reported that an agreement had been reached and a compensation package had been settled between Burnley and the Welsh FA.

But the appointment of Vincent Kompany’s former assistant fell through, leaving the Clarets back at square one, with Burnley eventually settling on Genk boss Nicky Hayen.

In an interview ahead of Wales’ upcoming Nations League games, Roberts reveals he feels Bellamy would have been the perfect fit for his club side.

“I’ve obviously known Bellers for a while now,” he told BBC Sport Wales. “He was at Burnley as a coach and now he’s the manager of Wales.

“I think he’s fantastic. People have their opinions, people look from the outside and they can say whatever they want, but people that know him and work with him and understand what he’s all about, and listen to what he’s got to say, I’ve only seen them sing praises of him.

“Am I a little bit disappointed he’s not Burnley manager? I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t.

“It would have been fantastic and it would have been just what we needed, but he’s not and we move on.

“Now he’s still here, still the manager of Wales and he’s going to continue to give absolutely everything to produce and make us the best team we possibly can be.

“We’ll see how the next few camps go building towards the next major tournament hopefully.”