Chris Coleman insists Gareth Bale was not being disrespectful when he suggested Wales had more pride and passion than England, and says his striker will back up his comments in Lens.
Bale's belief that England "big themselves up before they've done anything" did not go down well with England manager Roy Hodgson ahead of their Group B showdown on Thursday.
Hodgson accused Real Madrid forward Bale of being disrespectful and said he had no doubts about the patriotism or desire within the England squad.
But Coleman said: "If you know Gareth, he is the most down to earth boy you could wish to meet. He is not a disrespectful kid.
"I can understand where Roy was coming from, but I think Gareth meant it in a way of 'little old Wales'.
"I have said myself, for a long time, we have always settled for too little.
"We have settled for too long for, 'we did really well, we nearly got something.' Or, 'we nearly got there' and we have settled for that.
"To go that extra mile, we have got to be a bit different to what has gone before.
"We have got to want it a bit more. We have got to offer a bit more - because if you want it, you've got to give it.
"Gareth was simply saying, we are a small nation. We are a tight nation. Little things mean more to us than to the bigger nations.
"I understand where Roy is coming from, but Gareth was not being disrespectful."
Bale fanned the flames ahead of last month's Champions League final between Real and Atletico Madrid when he conducted pre-match media duties in Milan.
The 26-year-old told COPE's 'El Partido de las 12': "To me, no Atletico player would feature in Real Madrid's team."
But Bale subsequently produced on the pitch, setting up Real's goal in the 1-1 draw and then scoring a penalty in their extra-time shoot-out victory.
"If you look at the Champions League final, Gareth made a comment about Atletico Madrid," said Coleman.
"But then he played really well and scored a goal.
"I don't think he has got a problem with backing anything up.
"I think he looks forward to the great challenges, the big spotlight, and the pressure.
"If he didn't enjoy it, then he wouldn't be where he is.
"He will be relishing this challenge on Thursday."
Bale became the first Welshman to score at a major tournament since the 1958 World Cup when he opened the scoring in Saturday's 2-1 victory over Slovakia.
Coleman chose to play him in a centre-forward role and Bale responded with having five attempts on goal.
"I was happy with him at the weekend, more than happy with him," said Coleman.
"He scored a great free-kick and had a couple of good chances playing in the number nine role.
"We have played him as a number nine before and he never got a kick.
"We played him against Belgium and we couldn't get the ball to give to him, so that didn't work so well.
"But at the weekend he got his chances and he was effective, so we'll look to see if we will keep him there or move him."
Source: PA-WIRE
