Bellamy says Wales need to play at a high tempo against San Marino

San Marino v Wales
Serravalle Stadium
Wednesday, 17 September
Kick-off: 1915 BST
Live coverage on BBC Two Wales, BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru & the BBC Sport website

Wales captain Craig Bellamy says his team-mates should not need to look to him for any extra motivation ahead of Wednesday's Euro 2008 qualifier.

Striker Bellamy says "personal pride" should be enough to ensure Wales bounce back with a victory against San Marino.

"To put on that red shirt and play for your country should be your whole motivation," said the 28-year-old.

"They should know their duty. We must go out, myself included, and put in a better performance."

Interview: Wales captain Craig Bellamy

Wales are still reeling after Saturday's dismal 3-1 defeat to Cyprus which all but ended hopes of finishing third in Group D.

Manager John Toshack stunned the media on Tuesday by launching a stinging attack on his players' attitude, accusing them of lacking pride in their performance.

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Bellamy says Wednesday's match is a "no-win" situation for the players because they are expected to win, and to win well.

"It is difficult to be judged against San Marino, but we have to go out and get as many goals as we can and be as positive as we can," he said.

"The boss spoke to a few people on Sunday - he had some one-on-ones with some people.

"But we were all disappointed with the manner of the defeat - that is probably more the problem."

San Marino were thumped 7-0 by Slovakia on Saturday to register their tenth successive defeat in the current qualifying campaign.

But they almost caused a huge upset in February when only a last-minute Stephen Ireland goal secured a 2-1 win for the Republic of Ireland.

Bellamy has urged his side to avoid falling into the same trap as Ireland by allowing the game to be played at a slow tempo.

He said: The onus will be on us and they will play very deep, with us having a lot of the ball.

"They are not a good side, but we will have to be patient.

"It would be good to get a goal early on, but looking at Slovakia against them at the weekend, it took them 25 minutes to get their first and they went on to hit seven, and they didn't score in the last 20 minutes.

"The only problem we will have is if we make it difficult for ourselves. The Republic of Ireland struggled here early in the group because they played too slow and made it hard for themselves.

"If we do that, it will be tough. But if we play at a high tempo, pass the ball quickly and work hard, they won't be able to get near us and it will be an easy night."

Wales squad to play San Marino on October 17 in Euro 2008 Qualifying Group D: