Chris Gunter to hold talks with Robert Page over his future Wales coaching role
CHRIS GUNTER will hold talks with Wales boss Robert Page over whether he will remain part of his coaching staff.
The 109-cap defender, 33, retired from international duty last month but then joined the Dragons’ backroom team for the Euro 2024 qualifiers against Croatia and Latvia.
Gunter is still playing for League Two side AFC Wimbledon and now the pair will have a chat to see if he has a future role for the June internationals with Armenia and Turkey and beyond.
Gunter told SunSport: “I need to speak to the manager. My main focus after the recent camp was finishing the season.
“In terms of moving forward, I think the manager was keen to see how I got on and stay a part of it. We will cross that bridge when we come to it.
“For myself, if the opportunity is ever there to work for Wales, with the feelings I’ve got for the country and our football, it could not be any higher.
“Helping Wales is something I’m passionate about. I tried to be the influence that I was for the latter stages of my Wales playing career and help the group in any way I could.
“We had a really good ten days, good performances and results and it went perfectly.
“There’s a couple of things that need to be decided but, any opportunity I do get, I will feel very lucky to have it.”
Gunter’s future as a coach is likely to depend on whether the former Tottenham, Nottingham Forest, Cardiff and Reading right-back opts to continue playing next season.
Gunter, who will turn 34 in July, added: “That’s something when the time comes to sit down, think about and speak to the people who are close to me.
“One thing I have learnt in football is to take everything in the short term. I don’t know exactly what is going to happen moving forward. I am back training and trying to finish the season as well as possible.”
Gunter played for Wales in two Euro finals before he became the first male player to reach a century of appearances.
He ended his Dragons stint as a player by being part of the World Cup squad in Qatar – the nation’s first global finals since 1958.
Then Gunter joined Gareth Bale, Joe Allen and Jonny Williams from the golden generation to bow out on the big stage.
Gunter said: “It was tough because it’s something I have done for so long. But the timing felt right. I thought about it for some time and it felt natural after the World Cup in November for that to happen.
“I’m really grateful for the opportunities, experiences and the memories I shared with such good people. It has been the best 17 years of highs and lows but doing it with people I value and for our country.
“The support I have had all the way through has been incredible. On reflection, the very best of times I could have wished for.
“The nights where we qualified will always stick out. The achievement of getting to a major tournament and then some of the experiences at the tournaments.
“But my best memory would be to say I made 109 appearances for Wales – that was something I could ever have dreamt of.”
Chris Gunter was speaking at the Cardiff Happy Readers and Fun Football event celebrating McDonald’s pledge to distribute over 10m books and over 2m hours of free Fun Football coaching to families in the UK this year. Find out more visit mcdonalds.co.uk/family