Andy Melville is set to reach the impressive haul of 40 caps for Wales in Belarus on Saturday, yet the defender accepts that he will always be an unsung hero.

The Fulham man has been consistently winning international caps for a decade now, but knows that he stands in the shadow of the more famous stars in the squad.Think of Wales and you think of Ryan Giggs, Mark Hughes, Ian Rush or Neville Southall - rarely does Melville's name get a mention. "I've been around a long time and I'm quite happy to let the superstars grab all the attention," said Melville modestly. "It's something to be proud of reaching the 40-cap mark, now I aim to get 50 and not too many Welshmen have done that."

To be exact only 20 of his countrymen have topped the half century and just 29 have accumulated 40 appearances for their country, so Melville is reaching an elite group. "I suppose I've been a bit of an unsung hero at times, but I've played for my country for 10 years and can still remember the thrill of my debut against Germany back in 1990," he said. "So it will be a special day for me and I hope I can keep on playing at this level for a long time."

Melville has only had one season in the top flight, but the way things are going at Craven Cottage that could change by the end of the season. Jean Tigana's men are top of the First Division with a 100% record and Melville said: "Everything is going pretty well, and so far we've only conceded two goals in four games. "I'm playing alongside Chris Coleman who is also my partner for Wales in defence and it definitely helps to have an understanding like that when you're playing for club and country. "We know each other's game pretty well now.

"Everyone is talking about the new Fulham manager Jean Tigana. He has arrived with his own ideas and way of playing and it's going down well with the lads. "He doesn't speak much English, but he doesn't have to say much. "He wants us to play football out from the back which suits both me and Chris and the whole emphasis is on passing and playing the ball to feet."

Melville, now 31, added: "I suppose I've had a pretty good journeyman career starting at Swansea, Oxford, Sunderland and now Fulham. "I suppose I haven't reached the heights of some of my Welsh colleagues, but hopefully now with Fulham I can go on to better things. "I have had one season in the Premier with Sunderland, but we were relegated and I'd love to have the chance to play there again. If Fulham keep going like they are, maybe it will happen for me soon. "We are playing much more passing football. The boss makes his point about that he wants us to get the ball down and play on the floor - he certainly gets that across to us.

"My highlight for Wales was being in that side that beat Germany and Brazil, I was around for both those games although many people probably forget it. "I've had some good times for Wales and hopefully they'll be plenty more to come."