VETERAN forward Craig Bellamy admits Wales have under-achieved in their latest qualifying campaign.
The 34-year-old, who is expected to retire from international football when the World Cup qualifiers conclude next month, says two wins from eight games is not good enough.
National manager Chris Coleman came under heavy criticism after Tuesday’s 3-0 home defeat to Serbia saw Wales drop to bottom of the group.
And Bellamy, who was part of the squad that just missed out on a place at Euro 2004 a decade ago, made no excuses for Wales’ poor showing this time round.
“We’re bitterly disappointed but I thought Serbia were the better team,” said the Cardiff City star. “They started on the front foot and I thought they overpowered us to be honest.
“We do have a lot of good players and this is certainly the best group of players I’ve been involved with,” he added.
“Maybe with the quality of players we have that is an under-achievement. The playere we have are better than that but you get what you deserve in this game.
“Obviously we haven’t been good enough consistently to pick up points and we’ve only won two games.”
Wales must look to the future without their talisman Bellamy and he insists that there is room for optimism.
“We’ve got to try to win both remaining games now,” he said. “Belgium away is very tough but Macedonia at home is realistic.
“It isn’t all doom and gloom because we do have a lot of talented players and especially young players.”
And the Bluebirds hero backed Coleman, who is set to sign a new contract with the Football Association of Wales, to survive calls for his head from fanst at the Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday.
“I’ve played in front of 52,000 people hunting someone,” said Bellamy. “That is not pressure and I’m sure he will ride the storm.”
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