Page hails Wales centurion Gunter as ´a manager´s dream´

Chris Gunter has been lauded as “a manager’s dream” by Wales caretaker boss Robert Page ahead of the full-back winning his 100th international cap.

Charlton Athletic defender Gunter will bring up the landmark when Wales take on Mexico in a friendly at Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday.

Gunter is the first Welshman to achieve the feat, and will be six clear of goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey, who is next on the list of Wales’ most-capped players, ahead of Neville Southall (92) and Gareth Bale (87).

The 31-year-old made his debut in 2007, and Page, who is standing in as Wales boss due to Ryan Giggs’ suspension, was full of praise for Gunter.

“I keep saying that every time I work with him, I’m more impressed,” said Page.

“He’s a model professional, he is a manager’s dream. He just gets on with his work, he trains as he plays and he’s thoroughly deserved his 100 caps and all the credit he’s going to get from having achieved that.

“Good people in the game, you want to see them do well and he’s certainly one of them.”

IT’S HAPPENING!!!

It has been confirmed that @Chrisgunter16 will captain #Cymru against Mexico to earn cap 

Croeso! Welcome to the 100 Club! #TogetherStronger pic.twitter.com/0jiLSedni6

— Wales (@Cymru) March 26, 2021

For his part, Gunter said it was difficult to describe the emotion of his achievement.

“It’s tough to put into words. If you asked me potentially afterwards then there might be something a bit more emotional,” he said.

“I’m very proud, it means the world to me to represent the country and do what I know so many people would love to do.

“It’s something you never take for granted. You’ve given your life to hopefully performing for your country.”

The omens for Gunter marking the milestone with a win are not great, however. This will be the fifth meeting between the teams, with Wales yet to register a victory.

Indeed, Wales have not scored in either of their last two matches against Mexico, with the last Welshman to net against them John Charles in a May 1962 friendly.

Wales lost to Belgium in their opening World Cup qualifier on Wednesday, with the Czech Republic next up on Tuesday.

Asked if he had discussed the performance with Giggs, Page said: “Absolutely, I spoke with Ryan, of course.

“He was pleased with the second half. We made the change at half-time to be a little bit more positive in our press, get a little bit higher up the pitch and we just didn’t want to camp on the edge of our box and allow attack after attack and he absolutely agreed with that.

“There’s aspects that he’s pleased with and things we can do better on but overall he was pleased.”

It remains unclear as to whether Giggs will be in charge when the Euros roll around, though Page insists he is not focusing on taking the role for the tournament.

“No. I’m not interested in that,” he added. “It’s for other people to make those decisions, we’re not worrying about that.”