WALES captain Craig Bellamy has revealed former skipper Gary Speed was among the first to send a message of sympathy following Saturday’s Euro 2008 defeat by Slovakia. But the Liverpool striker refused to comment on speculation that the Bolton midfield veteran was prepared to come out of international retirement and offer his wealth of experience to manager John Toshack. The Wales boss insisted on Monday there was no going back and the country’s footballing future rested with the group of youngsters he had fast-tracked through the system in the two years since replacing Mark Hughes. “I had a text message from Gary immediately after the match on Saturday which said ‘I know how you feel, mate’,” said Bellamy. “And anyone who has followed Wales for any length of time knows what he means. It was a big day for me as captain of Wales for the first time, so the result was that much more disappointing.” Now 37, Speed racked up a total of 85 caps for Wales – the record for an outfield player – before announcing his withdrawal from the international scene after the World Cup qualifier against Poland in October 2004, which was Hughes’ last match in charge. But the evergreen Deesider is continuing to play regularly in the Premiership under manager Sam Allardyce at the Reebok Stadium and was quoted last week as saying he would be happy to make a short-term comeback, given the fact that Wales had been hit by a spate of withdrawals through injury. | 
