The former defender, who was part of Rob Page’s staff towards the end of his tenure, has a new role

Chris Gunter has been appointed the new head coach of Wales under-19s.

The Wales legend won 109 caps for his country in a storied career and has most recently been part of Rob Page’s coaching staff before he was let go after the last camp.

However, upon the announcement of Craig Bellamy as Wales’ head coach, Gunter has been reassigned to the position of U19s boss, with a remit of implementing the tactical principles of the ‘Welsh Way’, the FAW have announced.

The former Cardiff City, Tottenham, Nottingham Forest and Reading star will oversee the young Welsh side in games against France, Scotland and Liechtenstein in qualifiers for the Euros in the coming months.

“I’m really proud to be given the opportunity and I’m excited to get going in a different role,” Gunter said. “It’s a good opportunity for me to learn and improve on my side, but more importantly I want to give my support and experience to the young players coming through.

“Having that experience of coming through the pathway with the under 17s, 19s, 21s and then the seniors, I think that can really help me in this role.

“Everybody sees the senior team as the most important, which it is because it’s the real cutting edge of results and qualifications. But underneath that it’s the responsibility of myself and the other age group coaches, who have been doing really well, to facilitate that. We want to give Craig and the rest of the senior staff the best players in the best place, so it’s exciting.”

Meanwhile, Craig Bellamy has made a further appointment to his senior coaching staff.

Martyn Margetson has been named goalkeeper coach after leaving the same role in England’s setup. He held the position with Wales from 2011 until 2016 under Gary Speed and then Chris Coleman.

Margetson spent eight years with England but his exit was confirmed last week in the wake of the coaching staff shake-up following Gareth Southgate’s departure from his post.