Players don't seem to care, moans Toshack

John Toshack last night launched a withering attack on his own Wales players as this evening's qualifier away to European easy-beats San Marino was turned into a public vote of confidence in his leadership.

The veteran manager, whose authority was questioned by several players after Saturday's loss to Cyprus, forced the spotlight away from himself and fixed it instead on his struggling squad with a series of accusations.

Toshack said: 'There was another five-star hotel for the boys in Cyprus. And here we are again, in Rimini. Take a look out of the window — lovely. If the waves make a noise, those nice people will move you to a room on the other side of the hotel.

'We have a chef. There are doctors, physios, kit men, masseurs taking equipment to the training ground and setting it out for them. I think some of them take it for granted. And I won't accept it. There are people who've paid a fortune to travel to Cyprus and here, and they then go back home to do a shift after watching what we saw on Saturday.

'We don't expect miracles but we do expect a different attitude. I wasn't happy with a number of things. I'm not just talking about tactics and on the field. So I spent Saturday evening and a large part of Sunday letting people know how I felt.

'I did question the players' attitude. You talk to them and they'll say they do care. Did it look like it to you? It didn't look like it to me.

'People can look at me and say — with good reason — what the hell's he doing? And that hurts my pride. Yet, I couldn't argue. I just hope that some players feel the same but I'm not sure all of them do.'