Gary Speed to be unveiled as new Wales manager

 

Gary Speed will be confirmed as the new Wales manager tomorrow after agreeing a three-and-a-half year contract that includes a £1m bonus if he can qualify for a major finals. The former Wales captain will be unveiled as John Toshack's successor after Sheffield United refused to stand in his way when he made it clear he was keen to manage the country he won 85 caps for between 1990 and 2004.

The 41-year-old, whose first taste of management came when he took over at Bramall Lane in August, is understood to have signed a contract taking him up to the 2014 World Cup finals. Although Speed will be rewarded handsomely if Wales qualify for the World Cup in Brazil, his basic wage will be around £200,000 a year, significantly less than his salary at Sheffield United and a fraction of what many international managers earn.

It is unclear at this stage whether the Football Association of Wales have had to pay Sheffield United any compensation for Speed, who signed a three-year contract when he replaced Kevin Blackwell. Since taking over at Bramall Lane, Speed has endured a difficult time, losing nine of 18 matches in charge, leaving Sheffield United one point and two places above the Championship relegation zone.

Although Speed enjoyed a long and successful playing career, during which he made more than 500 Premier League appearances for Leeds, Everton, Newcastle and Bolton, and is a highly respected figure, his appointment comes as something of a surprise. Chris Coleman, who played alongside Speed for Wales, and Lars Lagerback, the former Sweden coach, were regarded as the frontrunners and both have considerably more managerial experience.

Brian Flynn, who was interviewed for the post along with Coleman, Lagerback and John Hartson, will be bitterly disappointed after once again being overlooked by the FAW. However, the back-to-back defeats Flynn suffered against Bulgaria and Switzerland in October, when he was placed in temporary charge after Toshack departed, severely damaged his chances. Flynn is now set to return to his duties as Wales Under-21 manager, where he has an excellent record.

Although Wales are blessed with some outstanding individual talents in the shape of Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey, recent results have been poor and Speed's first job will be to restore confidence to a side that have lost their opening three 2012 European Championship qualification fixtures. Speed's first competitive game will be against England, at the Millennium Stadium on 26 March.

Sheffield United, meanwhile, will begin their search for their third manager of the season. The early contenders include Chris Hughton, who was sacked as Newcastle manager last week, Phil Brown, who has been out of work since leaving Hull City last season, and Coleman, who has been mulling over an offer to take over at the Greek club Larissa while waiting to hear back from the FAW.