Source: Bournemouth_Echo
Cherries: Rhoys ready to stake Wales claim
RHOYS Wiggins is hoping his permanent switch to Dean Court will boost his international prospects and has admitted his surprise at John Toshack's possible departure. Wiggins, who joined Cherries from Norwich in July, has been capped 16 times at under-21 and under-19 level during Toshack's six years as Wales manager. However, his reign looks set to be coming to end with the FA of Wales tomorrow due to hold a press conference to clarify his position. It is understood Toshack could be willing to step down with a number of ex-internationals calling for his head in the wake of Wales' disastrous start to their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign. Iwan Roberts and Robbie Savage both called for Toshack to go following Wales' 1-0 defeat in Montenegro on Friday, while Mickey Thomas said he felt their next qualifier against Bulgaria could be a watershed for Toshack if he remains at the helm. Wiggins, however, expressed his support for Toshack when he said: I think he has done a decent job. I know other people might not think so and the supporters weren't happy after the Montenegro defeat. But he has given the young lads a chance and has brought through the likes of Gareth Bale. I think the average age of the senior squad is very low and has got to be one of the lowest around. I would like him to see it out for a couple of years or at least for a few more games into the qualifying campaign. Depending on what happens, he could still be there while they appoint someone else. From a personal point of view, it would be nice to see Brian Flynn eventually take over. He is the under-21 manager and has a lot of respect for me as I have for him. It will be interesting to see what happens. Wiggins, who has yet to win a full cap, added: Playing week in, week out for Bournemouth will definitely boost my chances and I know I need to be playing well to keep my place. Brian Flynn spoke to me last season and said I needed to be playing regularly to stand a chance of getting that first senior call up. I wasn't really thinking about that when I came here. I just want to get my club football up and running and League One is a good place to start. If I can have a good season then maybe the call up will come but, at the moment, I'm just focusing on Bournemouth. Asked how he qualified for Wales, London-born Wiggins replied: My dad is Welsh and half of my family still live there. And they still take the Mickey out of me for playing football rather than rugby!