Ramsey focused on playing career after Cardiff caretaker spell



Rhodri Evans

Aaron Ramsey has confirmed that he does not want to continue his coaching career beyond the end of the season.

The Wales and Cardiff legend says that he is still fully focused on making the 2026 World Cup with Wales as a player, rather than continue he interim coaching stint at Cardiff.

Ramsey’s contract at the Cardiff City Stadium expires at the end of the season and he is currently nursing a hamstring injury that he says is fully focused on the next two games as a manager, and then getting back to being a player again in time for preseason.

“My way of looking at it is just these two games and trying to keep this club in the Championship,” Ramsey said.

“It means a lot to me to be given this opportunity and I couldn’t turn that down. My full focus is trying to keep Cardiff in the Championship and it will be back to rehab then, with the hamstring.

“I’m trying to get back from a hamstring injury. I will be straight into rehab after this season finishes, that’s for sure.”

Ramsey suffered a hamstring injury and had surgery just over a month ago, but is still hopeful that he can continue playing and potential reach a second career World Cup with Wales, for whom he is still the captain.

“I managed to get the brace off at the weekend,” he explained.

“It is still a few months away as I’m still in the very early days of my rehab. I am able to walk around and fully extend my knee for the first time in five weeks or so. In the next few weeks I can start to ramp up the rehab and go through the gears a bit. I had surgery about six weeks ago.

“For me it is just about focusing on the next two games and then in the summer really focusing on getting a good rehab and giving myself the opportunity to get back into a good place.

“I had the operation hoping that would give me the best chance to get my hamstring working properly. In a few weeks time I will be back doing rehab and if all that goes well.

“There is still unfinished business. There is a lot still to play for and that World Cup is a massive carrot being dangled. That’s what I will be focusing on in a few weeks time.”

Ramsey’s Cardiff side suffered an agonising 1-1 draw with Oxford United in his first game in charge, with the U’s equalising goal coming from their only shot on target. That draw was made all the more galling after every other side in the bottom five won on Easter Monday.

That result leaves Cardiff three points adrift of safety, with a worse goal difference than many of the clubs around them.

Ramsey, as an academy graduate and Wales legend, was able to inspire a positive performance from both his team and the home crowd on Monday, and his hoping to see the same on Saturday when his side welcome West Brom.

“Obviously, the next two are huge. This club has so much potential to be competing at the highest level,” Ramsey added.

“It’s not easy when teams go down. We have seen that with other clubs. It is not straightforward. But we’re not really thinking about those sorts of things at the moment.

“We can’t let that come into our thought process. We have to just focus on the next game and give ourselves a chance and then see where that takes us. But we need everybody fully on board with that for us to have any chance.”

Ramsey also praised the fans, after a difficult season on and off the pitch, for backing his side against Oxford.

“It’s been brilliant. They’ve been first class,” Ramsey said.

“Everyone has come in and given a new lease of energy and new life. There is a real buzz around the place. We want the same again on Saturday. We need everyone fully on board and hopefully we will have a result we can celebrate at the end.

“They get it. They know. The players, staff in the club are all together in this. They have seen that with the fans at the weekend. The celebration after the goal, jumping in with the people in the crowd, the bench was over, some of the subs were involved.

“We all want the same, together, so we all have to come together to make that possible.”


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