Craig Bellamy’s ex-teammate weighs in on collapse of Burnley move

Craig Bellamy will be able to handle the “flak” that’s come his way following the collapse of his move to Burnley, according to a former teammate of his.

It looked as though the 46-year-old was all set for a return to Turf Moor, where he previously worked as Vincent Kompany’s assistant, to take over as Burnley’s new boss.

But the Wales boss performed a last minute U-turn and now looks set to remain in his current role, landing the Clarets a huge blow - two months on from Scott Parker’s departure.

Wales fans have also vented their frustration, however, with their boss so close to taking on another job, just weeks after publicly airing his commitment to his current role.

But whatever comes his way in the coming days and weeks, Bellamy’s former Blackburn Rovers colleague Brad Friedel believes it won’t be a huge issue.

“I played with Craig and there’s two things here,” he told talkSPORT. “When he signs the contract, he’s all in. Whether that with Burnley or whether that’s with Wales, he’s that type of character.

“Most managers that go into the game, and this is why it’s so interesting what Kieran McKenna did [at Ipswich Town], but most of them want to keep going up the ladder and he probably would have taken the Burnley job if everything was correct.

“The best time to look for a job or get the job is when you have a job. Now, the Welsh FA might not think so and they might not be happy with that, but Craig is the type of guy that wears his heart on his sleeve. He will tell you as it is, he will tell his teammates, he will tell staff, he will tell everybody.

“I think he’s still grateful for the opportunity [with Wales] but he probably knows the other one is better. He’s just going to have to deal with the criticism.

“The only person who knows what is best for his development as a coach is himself, not us, because we’re sitting on the outside looking at it.

“I’m just putting a hypothetical out there, but the Wales FA might be pulling stuff back. We don’t know that and because he respects the Welsh FA, he doesn’t want to air their dirty laundry. We just don’t know all of that.

“He’s the type of fella that will take full responsibility for the consequences, he won’t mind the flak, he won’t mind the criticism.”