•Ashley Williams won 86 Wales caps and captained the side to the semi-finals of Euro 2016
•Former Wales captain Page, 47, Giggs' assistant since August 2019, took charge of matches from November 2020, leading Wales to top spot in their Nations League group.
Image: /REUTERS
Image: /REUTERS
Former Wales captain Ashley Williams says interim Wales manager Rob Page deserves the job on a long-term basis.
Ryan Giggs, who stepped away from the Wales manager role in November 2020 facing charges he denies of using controlling behaviour and assaulting his ex-girlfriend, resigned on Monday.
Williams has warned Wales will lose Page to a club side if they do not move swiftly to appoint him permanently. "I think Rob has done an excellent job," Williams told BBC Sport Wales.
"He should be rewarded. He definitely deserves a contract, no matter what happens at the World Cup. He is the man who spearheaded it and got us there.
"It shouldn't depend on how we do at the World Cup. He's done well for a long time."
Page has been Wales' interim boss since Giggs' arrest and subsequent charges, with the former Northampton and Port Vale boss leading Wales to a first World Cup appearance in 64 years
Ashley Williams won 86 Wales caps and captained the side to the semi-finals of Euro 2016
Giggs has pleaded not guilty to controlling and coercive behaviour against his ex-girlfriend Kate Greville between August 2017 and November 2020.
He has also pleaded not guilty to assaulting Ms. Greville causing her actual bodily harm, and common assault of her younger sister, Emma Greville, at his home in Worsley, Greater Manchester, on 1 November 2020.
The trial was originally scheduled to take place last January but was postponed until 8 August due to a lack of court space. The trial is set to last a minimum of five days.
The former Manchester United winger said in a statement of resignation that he "did not want the country's preparations for the World Cup to be affected, destabilized or jeopardized in any way by the continued interest around this case".
Former Wales captain Page, 47, Giggs' assistant since August 2019, took charge of matches from November 2020, leading Wales to the top spot in their Nations League group.
He continued to deputise for Giggs - who was appointed by Wales in January 2018 - in March 2021 as Wales kicked off their 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign.
That would culminate in a famous playoff final win over Ukraine in June 2022, booking a place at Qatar for Wales' first appearance at a World Cup finals in 64 years.
Wales will play England, the United States and Iran in Group B, with their opening game against the USA on 21 November, with Page contracted until after the tournament.
Under Page's guidance, Wales also reached the last 16 of the Euro 2020 finals, which were delayed until 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Williams feels Page's record more than justifies a full-time deal.
"You have a different rapport as an assistant or a coach, you are the good cop, but he's handled the transition of moving into the hot-seat really well, the players really like him," he said. "He has a good relationship with all the players.
"He's spoken well when there have been shaky games in qualifying, but I think with the benefit of hindsight, all the big decisions, he made correctly."