Chris Gunter believes tough times for club and country will only make Wales’ talented young players stronger in the long-term.

As Gary Speed’s side prepare to face Montenegro in Cardiff tomorrow and England at Wembley on Tuesday, left-back Gunter is convinced that they are about to turn the corner and start producing results.

And the Newport-born star, whose Nottingham Forest side were hammered 4-1 by West Ham on Sunday, believes similar humiliations for Gareth Bale’s Tottenham and Aaron Ramsey’s Arsenal can only make them better players.

“Aaron’s ok,” said Gunter after Arsenal’s 8-2 drubbing at Manchester United. “I lost 4-1, Gareth lost 5-1 so we all had a bad weekend but you have to forget about your club when you come away with Wales. The Montenegro players aren’t going to be bothered about us feeling sorry for ourselves.

“It wasn’t good enough against Australia last time, especially in the first half,” he added.

“But we’re still learning about the manager rand he’s still learning about us. He told us he wasn’t happy and hopefully we can put that right in these games. You have to play top teams to get better and these games will help us in 12 months time and for the aim of qualifying for the World Cup.”

Meanwhile, Gunter is delighted to be based in his home city after Wales ditched their long-term base at the Vale of Glamorgan Hotel in favour of the Celtic Manor.

“It’s nice to be in Newport,” he said. “It’s good for the city. It’s a great hotel and we’re training at Newport Stadium.

“With County winning promotion last year it’s a good time for football here. We’ve been at the Vale for years and sometimes a change is good.”