Giggs has ‘no intention of quitting Wales’

NEW Wales captain Ryan Giggs has insisted he has no intention of retiring from international football.

Doubts over the Manchester United star’s continued involvement for his country surfaced when seven of his senior colleagues quit in the wake of Mark Hughes’ departure as boss.

But the midfielder said: “I’m fit, I enjoy playing for my country and I have no intention of quitting.”

Giggs reaches the landmark 50th cap in the World Cup clash against Austria in Cardiff. He said: “I am very proud to reach 50 caps and I hope there will be many more. I have no thoughts of retiring. Long-term the captaincy is up to John, but I am more than happy to continue doing it.”

Giggs wants to be around the Wales scene for “two or three more qualifying tournaments.” That would virtually take him to the end of Toshack’s five-year contract.

Giggs made his Wales debut for Wales 14 years ago and he has seen plenty of highs and lows. He said: “My highlights were scoring on my full debut and captaining the side for the first time against Belgium. The low points are obviously the defeats by Romania and Russia that stopped us getting to major finals.

“But it is those experiences that spur you on even more and make you more determined to qualify for something big.”

Toshack expects to have Aston Villa’s Mark Delaney back in defence, while veteran Robert Page will almost certainly hold on to the centre-back role.