Wales captain Ryan Giggs has vowed to respond to Saturday's Euro 2008 qualifying defeat in Dublin by beating San Marino in style on Wednesday.
"We were hurt by the Ireland result and the performance," said Giggs. "The only way to rectify that is to produce a positive performance on Wednesday. We're expected to win and to win well, and we will do that. San Marino have become a better team over the years, but still, we should be beating these teams."
Wales produced an inept attacking performance in Saturday's 1-0 defeat to the Republic of Ireland, with Giggs falling way short of the level of performance he has been producing for Manchester United this season.
But the 33-year-old dismissed out of hand any questioning of his effort and approach in Croke Park, insisting players can not "turn it off and on" on a whim.
He added: "You have got to try to play well all the time because that breeds confidence. Anyone who knows the characters of the individuals concerned within the team, knows what was said is not right."
Despite the poor start to the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, Giggs insists retiring from international duty has not entered his mind. And even if this campaign ends in another failure, Giggs made it clear he aims to be around for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, which begin in September 2008.
He said: "It did not even go through my head that I should step away from the situation now, not for one second. I've always said that I will be involved as long as I am enjoying it. And that means the 2010 World Cup campaign. I still enjoy the challenge of producing my form for Wales. As long as my fitness is good, I'm injury free, I will carry on. At the moment it will need someone to tell me I should stop, it won't be something I will suggest.
Linear Mode
