Aaron Ramsey hungry for more success with Wales after EURO 2016 run

Aaron Ramsey says Wales are eager to achieve success once again as they prepare for their opening fixture against Switzerland on Saturday.

Ramsey achieved personal success as he was named in the UEFA Team of the Tournament in Wales’ last appearance in the competition back at Euro 2016. He played a pivotal role in ensuring Wales reached the semi-finals of the tournament as they shocked favourites Belgium in the quarter-finals on their way to achieving what many deemed impossible.

“What we did last time, nobody ever expected us to do that so some people might be expecting a similar sort of thing again.

“We know that we’ve got a lot of players who haven’t experienced this before, new setup and things like that. We have expectations on ourselves, but we will just take it one step at a time and see if we can recreate something similar,” said Ramsey.

Rob Page’s side are still hungry for success claims Ramsey despite facing the difficult task of being placed in one of the toughest groups at Euro 2020.

“We go into any game wanting to win the game. It’s up to us to do the talking on the pitch, we have the players who can hurt teams, we have a good mixture and we are hungry for success again.

“It’s going to be difficult, we are under no illusion, we have a tough group, tough game against the Swiss to start we are going to have to be right on our A-game and hit the ground running for our first match,” said Ramsey.

Some Wales fans were left worried to witness Ramsey absent from Thursday’s training session. However, the 30-year-old claims that there is no cause for concern.

“All good. It was a very light session for the boys today. It was planned that I stayed off my feet,” said Ramsey.

Fitness has been a concern on the minds of every Wales fan, player and staff concerning Ramsey ahead of the tournament with the Juventus midfielder having struggled for minutes ahead of the tournament.

Ramsey has taken matters into his own hands by using his own fitness team ahead of the tournament to ensure he is match fit for the opener against Switzerland.

“It has been a quite challenging time over the past couple of seasons,” said Ramsey.

“In the end now I have got my own team around me who are focused on me, to get myself into the best possible shape.

“Obviously football is a team sport and a lot of the time it is about the team and everybody doing the same things, when maybe some players need a bit more attention.

“So I take it into my own hands really and I have the right people around me to try to come up with the best possible plan for me to get myself back into a place where I am feeling good and confident again.”

The former Arsenal midfielder has played in only 19 of Wales’ 44 games since Euro 2016 having been struck with injuries as he has so often throughout his career.

He played a total of 92 minutes across the two friendlies against Albania and France earlier this month in his return to international football ahead of Euro 2020 having worked with his own personal fitness team before those friendlies in training camps out in Portugal and Cardiff.

“They started off with us, they did a few weeks with us so I had a good few weeks with them, settled in really well,” said Ramsey.

“Again the Welsh staff, medical team, have been brilliant, they have been open for discussions and it’s important to all be on the same page.

“I have known a lot of the Welsh staff for a long, long time from my Arsenal days as well, there are a few of them.

“They understand me, they know my body and they know what I need. Hopefully, we can all play a part to try and get myself in the best place.”