Fulham
star Andy Melville will find himself Wales' most experienced player when
they stride into their World Cup showdown this weekend.
The 33-year-old will win his 47th cap and because of injury to captain Gary
Speed will be the senior man and might even end up as captain when Wales
take on Armenia at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.
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Andy Melville
Fulham |
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Melville claims, meanwhile, to be constantly
stunned by the amount of money Mohamed Al Fayed is throwing at Fulham, where
the tough Welsh defender will find himself with another new team mate -
£11.5million Steve Marlet - when he finally gets back to club football
in a fortnight.
Fulham have spent £33m since the summer, and it means the old guard
like Melville are being forced to hang on grimly to their places.
Melville said: "We are still buying good players. We've now spent another
£11.5million on a striker and brought in Edwin van der Sar in the
summer. It shows that the people who run the club know what they are doing
and know what they want.
"But now I actually think we are under more pressure than most sides
that come up. Nobody was predicting we would be going straight back down,
which is unusual for a promoted team.
"That doesn't help because everyone thinks we are going to just finish
in the top 10 or higher because of all the money being spent. But as players
we know there's a lot of hard work for everyone."
Wales duty comes as a welcome change from the new-found pressures of the
Premiership high life for Melville, and he reckons his country can clinch
their first win in group five against the Armenians.
He said: "This is a good chance for us to win. We have threatened a
lot in this group but ended up drawing a lot. "We should have beaten
Armenia away. Their equaliser was a shock goal, so we are looking forward
to going one better this time. "Just like at Fulham, I'm really enjoying
my football at the top level - and I'm satisfied that people are saying
I'm holding my own in the Premiership. That can only help in internationals."
Swansea-born Melville - who has been playing for his country for almost
12 years - is delighted with life in the top flight at Craven Cottage, despite
the pressures.
He said: "It's gone really well - we have started fine. Manchester
United away was a good performance even though we lost, and three points
from Sunderland showed what we can do.
"As long as we know and understand that it's going to be very hard
this term then we will be okay and not get over-confident.
"But there's not much chance of that with the knowledge that you could
find yourself replaced at any moment by another big-money signing. It has
been the same at Fulham for the past few years because players are always
looking over their shoulders at people who continually get brought in whenever
we make some progress.
"Every day you hear of new names linked with the club. The old guard
just have to get on with it and see what happens."
But he added: "People must not get carried away. We have come a long
way in a short space of time and we have to make sure first and foremost
that we are still in the Premiership come next May. Anything else is a bonus
after that.
"I can't say we are going to finish in the top six because reality
tells you it's going to be a lot harder than that."
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Source PA Sport by Paul Walker