I’m not going to gloat – but I did tell you Craig Bellamy wasn’t the right man to captain Wales.

OK, my objection was based more on the Liverpool striker’s disciplinary record than his leadership qualities. In the event, he behaved impeccably before, during and after the Slovakia debacle. But when your country crash to their worst home defeat in 98 years, and a new man is leading them on the field, you have to question whether Bellamy is – or ever will be – the man for the job.

The other players might respect Craig as a player, but if a captain is to be truly effective in his job, he must above all be respected as a person. And how can one respect someone who has an appalling disciplinary record and is about to face magistrates on a charge of assault?

Bellamy will have a chance to redeem himself on Wednesday, when Wales face Cyprus, who proved their arrival among Europe’s major players by caning the Republic of Ireland 5-2 on Saturday.

The omens are not good. On the evidence of the Slovakia game, which was watched by just 28,493 fans, Wales will be playing to a near-empty Millennium Stadium. And Bellamy didn’t exactly create positive vibes when he hit out at the absent fans after the Slovakia game.

"While it doesn't excuse the manner of our defeat, I was surprised and disappointed there was such a small crowd here for our first home game of a new qualifying campaign,’’ he said. "It didn't feel right out there today but that's how Welsh football is. But the ones who stayed away, their money was the best spent.

"We could have done with Ryan Giggs playing as that normally adds an extra 30,000 on the gate. 
"Wales had a good few years under Mark Hughes and we sold out the Millennium Stadium a few times. It was really happening for us. But I hope it's not a return to the bad old days for both the team and our support.

"We, as players, now need to do our bit to start attracting the crowds again by performing well, playing with style and tempo and, most importantly, winning."

I’ve been supporting Wales since 1958 when, hard though it is to imagine in light of our current woes. we came within a single Pele goal of reaching the World Cup semi-final. Since then, zilch…we’ve not even qualified for a major tournament finals, let alone come anywhere near to winning anything. OK, we’ve had a couple of near misses – and there was of course that never-to-be-forgotten 4-1 thrashing of England at Wrexham in 1981. I’ve still got the video of that amazing victory under Mike England’s management . . . and drag it out regularly to remind me that we once had a team to be proud of. No wonder England opted out of the Home Internationls soon afterwards!

There were genuine signs of a renaissance under the management of Hughes, before he was tempted away by Blackburn, but now that Sparky has gone, there’s no doubt that Wales lack leadership – from boss John Toshack to Bellamy, Giggs or whoever Tosh chooses to lead the team on the field. What we do have is a raft of promising your talent… and that has to be a good omen for the future.

One of the few plus points from the Slovakia game was the cracking goal scored from a free kick by 17-year-old Gareth Bale, the youngest player ever to don a Wales jersey. Here’s hoping the Prince of Bales will have lots of joy during his international career. And that Wales will give me as much pleasure as I’m currently getting from seeing Cardiff City at the top of the Championship table.

For all his misdemeanours, I do genuinely have sympathy for Bellamy. He is a world-class player but to expect him to lead us out of the mire, well, that’s cloud-cuckoo-land stuff.  OK, he is one of the few players who commands an automatic place in the Wales starting line-up. But the reality is that, with the possible exception of the ageing Gary Speed, we don’t have a natural leader. Giggs, for all his brilliance, is a quiet man who can only lead by example. The same goes for Danny Gabbidon.

At least Bellamy has a big mouth…even if he does put his foot in it too often for my liking. For all the criticism, he deserves a second chance, if only to try to exorcise the Slovakia gremlins which will otherwise tarnish his record for life.

As for manager Toshack, he was hardly overjoyed at Saturday's result. ''They ended up running round like headless chickens,'' he said of his players. ''It was a pretty sorry sight."  Was this, then, his worst day as a manager? "No, no," said Toshack. "I've been sacked twice by Real Madrid."

Cyprus will be no walkover. Indeed, pointless Wales – who can already forget about qualification for the European Championship finals – might well start as underdogs.  Meanwhile, just about the only consolation from the 5-1 thrashing by Slovakia is that we didn’t have to play the Czechos as well!