'No worries, no doubt, no fear' - Coleman backs Wales to do their nation proud

Wales coach Chris Coleman insists he has no concern over his "fearless" group of players despite their poor run of form heading into Euro 2016.

The Dragons face Slovakia on Saturday in Bordeaux in what is the nation's first major finals fixture in 58 years. And while they have won only once in their last seven fixtures, including none of their last four, Coleman told a press conference on Friday that he couldn't be more confident in his players.

"These players we’ve got here, I’ve got absolutely no worries, no concern, no doubt, no fear," he explained. "I know what we’re capable of. We’re here, this is what we’ve always wanted to be. Even if we’d won all those games, nothing is guaranteed. These players have never, ever disappointed their country.”

Wales qualified for the finals by finishing second in their preliminary group behind Belgium, but have since fallen to three defeats in four.

Coleman, though, took responsibility for their most recent loss to Sweden.

“There has been a loss of form for us since we beat Andorra in the last campaign game," he added. "We then lost to Holland, drew with Northern Ireland, lost to Ukraine and we lost to Sweden. So all those were tough games, and in every one of those games we didn’t have the strongest team available to us.

"There was only one game we didn’t perform in, and that was Sweden. Sweden was my responsibility, I took that, because physically we weren’t ready and some of our lads hadn’t played in a long time. So I’m not worried about a loss of form because that’s international football."

The boss, who celebrates his 46th birthday on Friday added that while he expects Slovakia to focus much of their attention on stopping Real Madrid star Gareth Bale, the attacker is more than familiar with the attention that comes with leading Wales' charge.

“We’re used to that really. When he’s won two Champions Leagues and done what he’s done, we know they are going to pay him a lot of attention.

"He’s used to all the spotlight and having the eyes of the world on him with everything he does on and off the pitch."

The Group B fixture kicks off at 18:00 CET on Saturday, with Joe Ledley having been passed fit to play some part in the match despite suffering a leg fracture less than five weeks ago playing for Crystal Palace.

"Joe Ledley has done fantastic to get to this tournament," added Coleman. "He has always been in my consideration., although of course I’m not going to give anything away at the moment.

"He’s available, and will play some part tomorrow whether that’s starting or coming off the bench. But physically and mentally he’s done amazing.”