Bellamy focused on Wales job despite Celtic links - Mooney

WALES head coach Craig Bellamy is “completely focused” on qualifying for next year’s World Cup despite being linked with Celtic, says FAW chief executive Noel Mooney.

- GLEN WILLIAMS Football writer [e-mail]

Bellamy has been strongly linked with the vacant Celtic job - but the Football Association of Wales insist the head coach remains fully committed to leading the country towards next year’s World Cup.

Bellamy (pictured right), who spent a short but memorable loan spell at Celtic during his playing days, has been named in Scotland as one of the club's leading candidates to replace Brendan Rodgers, who resigned last week following a turbulent start to the season and a breakdown in relations behind the scenes at Parkhead.

Rodgers’ exit was followed by a ferocious statement from the club's majority shareholder Dermot Desmond, who accused the Northern Irishman of being “divisive, misleading and self-serving”.

That has prompted a rapid search for a successor, with Bellamy’s name placed high on a shortlist drawn up by head of football operations Paul Tisdale.

The Welshman has been described as a “person of considerable interest” by the Daily Record.