Cardiff City fans have voiced their fury over the lack of urgency in appointing a new manager. Bluebirds fans groups have come together to write an open letter to the club’s officials, demanding action and warned a “toxic” feeling towards the club poses huge dangers.

Luke Williams admitted he gave his players a bit of the hair dryer treatment after seeing them come into the break trailing 2-1 against bottom of the table Portsmouth at the Swansea.Com Stadium, before hitting back for a 2-2 draw. Matt Ritchie and Josh Murphy had given the visitors a two goal advantage in their first game in three weeks before Myles Peart-Harris harried Connor Ogilivie enough at the far post to force the ball over the line just before the break.

Rhian Wilkinson’s Wales squad will celebrate Christmas early before aiming to unwrap the perfect present – qualifying for Euro 2025. Honours were even between Wales and the Republic of Ireland in the first leg of their Euro play-off final on Friday as Olivia Clark’s own goal cancelled out Lily Woodham’s fine strike for the hosts.

Wales insist they are ready to make history when they take on the Republic of Ireland in the first of a two-legged qualification battle on Friday night. The first meet will take place at the Cardiff City Stadium on Friday night, which will give Wilkinson’s team the benefit of having the ever-growing Welsh crowd of supporters behind them, as they fight for a place at the 2025 Euros. But Ireland, who are ranked 24 in the world – five spots above Wales – pose a serious threat to the Welsh side’s dreams of making history by appearing at their first major tournament finals.

Rhian Wilkinson believes Wales should embrace their opportunity in the Euro 2025 play-off final as they aim to reach their first major tournament. While history beckons, captain Angharad James has underlined the importance of her teammates staying focused on the task at hand, rather than being overwhelmed by the occasion.

For someone who spent 20 years as a striker, Omer Riza didn’t make that many appearances. Just 136 in all, throughout a gently meandering career that took him from Arsenal to Trabzonspor in the Turkish Super League, via a few stops in between, and eventually ended at Harlow Town.

Craig Harrison insists The New Saints remain capable of making the Conference League knockout phase despite suffering a third group defeat. The Welsh champions lost 1-0 to Djurgarden at their temporary Shrewsbury base as their streetwise Swedish opponents called on all their European experience to prevail.

Cardiff City’s weekend fixture at Coventry City has suddently become the focus of most attention in the Championship after their hosts confirmed Frank Lampard as their new manager. The former Chelsea boss – who once had a loan spell as a player at Swansea City – has been appointed on a two-and-a-half-year contract.

Luke Williams insists his Swansea City team must learn to win with more comfort if they are going to challenge for the play-off places. The Swans head coach was pleased with his team’s fast start in their 2-1 victory at Derby County which has taken them up to 11th place in the Championship, five points off the top six.

Omer Riza admitted Cardiff City might not have scored had they played all night following his team’s deflating 2-0 home defeat to QPR. The Bluebirds interim manager watched his team struggle against the Championship’s bottom club before Rangers earned a deserved victory.

Phil Parkinson reckons Wrexham were rewarded for going the extra yard to beat stubborn Lincoln 1-0 and maintain their promotion push. Tendayi Darikwa’s 67th-minute own goal settled an evenly-fought contest and gave Parkinson’s side an eighth home league win in nine attempts.

Steve Cooper’s surprise sacking by Leicester City at the weekend means there are currently no Welsh managers left working in the Premier League. Cooper had been flying the flag for Wales in the top flight after the dismissal last year of Nathan Jones by Southampton and the relegation suffered last season by Luton Town with Rob Edwards at the helm.

Omer Riza wants his Cardiff City players to improve their concentration in matches after they let slip a lead to draw 1-1 at Sheffield Wednesday. The Bluebirds interim manager saw his team pick up a point that lifted them out of the Championship relegation zone, but they were only ahead for two minutes.

Luke Williams insists Swansea City can draw some optimism for the rest of their season, despite losing a 4-3 thriller at home to Leeds United. The Swans head coach watched his side twice go ahead, before eventually conceding the winner in stoppage time to Leeds, who moved to the top of the Championship.

Craig Harrison asked for a reaction from his players following their shock 3-1 defeat to Briton Ferry Llansawel earlier in the week and he got it in spades as The New Saints moved to within a point of the top of the JD Cymru Premier table. They were forced to do it the hard way after falling behind to two goals in as many minutes from former Cardiff City academy star James Crole that gave league leaders Penybont a handy half-time lead at Park Hall.

Omer Riza appears happy enough with his trip to Malaysia to meet Vincent Tan – even though he did not return with a signed contact as the new permanent Cardiff City manager. Instead, Riza remains in interim charge of the Bluebirds as they prepare to face Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough on Saturday lunchtime.

Wales striker Liam Cullen is celebrating what he called a “perfect start” under new manager Craig Bellamy, crediting the team’s progress as a stepping stone toward securing World Cup qualification. Swansea forward Cullen netted his first two international goals as Wales bounced back from an early deficit to claim a 4-1 victory over Iceland in the Nations League on Tuesday.

Craig Bellamy hopes his success in leading Wales to Nations League promotion will convince his doubters he is not “the lunatic” some of them believe. The Wales boss – in as forthright and free-flowing a mood as his players had been – extended his unbeaten run to six games to make it the best start by a Wales manager as his side recovered from conceding an early goal to beat Iceland 4-1 in Cardiff.

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Craig Bellamy has discarded various Nations League permutations facing Wales by declaring his solitary focus is on beating Iceland in their final group fixture. Wales can still secure automatic promotion to League A by beating Iceland on Tuesday night if leaders Turkey lose to bottom-placed Montenegro.