Harry Wilson admits the onus was on him to step out of Gareth Bale’s shadow and keep Wales on track for major tournaments. Boss Rob Page revealed recently he spoke to Wilson last summer and told him he was no longer simply a squad member and that he is a “big player” for Wales. Wilson responded with a hand in both goals in September’s 2-0 win in Latvia, and then scored twice in the stunning 2-1 victory over World Cup semi-finalists Croatia last month. Those two wins lifted Wales up to second in Group D and they will qualify automatically for Euro 2024 by taking six points from their final two games, away to Armenia on Saturday and at home to Turkey three days later. “Gaz provided a lot of moments for us on the pitch in times that we needed him,” Fulham forward Wilson said of Wales’ record scorer Bale, who retired from football in January. “So for me being an attacking player, I need to start stepping up in those moments, and thankfully I was able to do that in the Croatia game. “I’m not stupid, I know I wasn’t the first on the team sheet because we had Gaz at Real Madrid and ‘Rambo’ (Aaron Ramsey) at Arsenal and then Juventus. “They were playing regular football at the top level and it felt like they produced in every game. “I wasn’t happy with that because I wanted to be playing, but now with players leaving, I think there’s a spot there for me and I’d like to think that I have stepped up.” Wilson won his 50th cap against Croatia, 10 years to the day since becoming Wales’ youngest-ever male player at the age of 16 years and 207 days. Affectionately known as ‘The King of Corwen’ by Wales fans, Wilson has also stepped up off the pitch as part of a leadership group. He said: “It’s not just Gaz leaving, Joe (Allen) left as well as a couple of senior players who made sure that the standards are always up there. “I’ve gone from maybe one of the younger ones in the squad to being one of the oldest quite quickly. “We had a little meeting during the last camp that ‘Rambo’, Ben Davies, Connor Roberts, Ethan Ampadu and myself were in. I’m not the one who’s going to be barking orders on the pitch, but I like to lead in a different way and doing stuff right Harry Wilson “It’s a group of lads who want to make sure the standards are set every day, making sure everything is right off the pitch so we can perform on it. “I’m not the one who’s going to be barking orders on the pitch, but I like to lead in a different way and doing stuff right. On the pitch, I want to lead with the ball and try to make stuff happen.” Wales will be looking towards Wilson again as they attempt to reach a fourth major tournament out of five and avenge June’s shock 4-2 home defeat to Armenia. He said: “We know what we did wrong in that game and we know what we’ve got to do on Saturday to put that right. “For sure we owe them one. They played a fantastic game, but we also know we weren’t at the levels we’ve been at since. If we can perform like we did against Croatia, I’m pretty confident we can get a result.” Read More Gareth Southgate highlights Sir Bobby Charlton legacy ahead of Wembley tribute Steve Clarke praises Scotland for keeping their heads after late draw in Georgia ‘Great spectacle of cricket’ – Australia relishing World Cup final against India Mallory Franklin: Kayak cross unknowns add to excitement ahead of Olympic debut Jarell Quansah keen to become ‘top centre-back’ after Liverpool breakthrough Liam Dawson sees promise in fellow spinner Rehan Ahmed but calls for patience

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Claire Williams said selling the family’s Formula One team is a grief that has been difficult to come to terms with, admitting it has felt like someone cut her heart out and never gave it back. Claire, 47, has been an F1 outsider for coming up to three years following the sale of the team founded by her father Sir Frank Williams to American investment firm Dorilton Capital for £136million. She resigned as de facto boss at the 2020 Italian Grand Prix, while Frank – who extraordinarily took his motor racing team from an empty carpet warehouse to the summit of the sport – died a year later. “When I left in Monza it felt like someone cut my heart out and it has never been returned,” said Claire, in an interview with the PA news agency ahead of Williams’ 800th race at this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix. “You just have to find something to put in its place. But it was very difficult then and three years on, it is still really hard. “It is just one of those griefs that is really difficult to get over, or to come to terms with. Now we have lost Dad, it sometimes feels as though it was just a dream. Did that period in our lives really happen?” Sir Frank oversaw 114 victories, 16 drivers’ and constructors’ world championships and became the longest-serving team boss in the sport’s history. His story is made all the more remarkable by a horrific car crash which left him with injuries so devastating doctors considered turning off his life-support machine. Until his death in 2021, he was recognised as the world’s oldest surviving tetraplegic. Frank, who lived at the team headquarters in Grove, Oxfordshire, handed over the managerial baton to daughter Claire in 2013. She guided the team to a brilliant third in the constructors’ championship, behind the financial muscle of Mercedes and Ferrari over the following two years, before a lack of major investment contributed to Williams’ decline. A decade has passed since a Williams driver last won a race. “There was so much that went on in those last few years, which to this day I will never be able to talk about,” continues Claire. “But I saw the team through three very difficult seasons and I was able to hand over something that was still living and still breathing to someone with deeper pockets than us. We kept everyone in jobs, we didn’t go into administration and I am very proud of that. “When I have challenging circumstances I bury my head in jobs and when we sold Williams, my next concern was, where did Dad go? “As much as Dorilton were kind enough to say he could always live at the factory, I needed him close to me. And coincidentally the house next door to us came up for sale, so we moved Dad in. “I managed his care team. I made sure he was happy and comfortable in his new home and we went off and did some nice stuff together. He would pick up my little one, Nate, from nursery. “But then he got sicker, greater care was required to look after him and he passed away. But for the next six months, we organised this wonderful memorial service. We then decided to move house, renovating our old house in Ascot and our new home in South Downs. “So, I am the master of distraction. Life carries on. And as much as I miss Williams, and I miss Formula One dreadfully, there is a whole other world out there. You have to go and find happy elsewhere. That is what I have done.” However, Claire discovered her zen state is disrupted by watching the sport she loves. She will not tune in on Sunday to see Alex Albon and rookie Logan Sargeant scramble for a point or two under the tutelage of new team principal James Vowles – an appointment Claire said her father would have approved of – in Williams’ landmark race. “I turned on the TV to see Alex had scored a point in Australia earlier this year,” she continued with a broad smile. “Ted’s Notebook was on and Ted [Kravitz] grabbed James and said, ‘mate, congratulations, you are only Williams’ third team principal and you have got a point. How does it feel?’ “And I was like, third team principal? That is Frank, that is Jost [Capito] and that is James, what about me? Ted has just cancelled me on national television! “I may not have been called team principal but I operated that way and I have literally just been erased. I turned it straight off and vowed never to watch again. “But I tried watching the last race at Silverstone. I thought to myself, ‘Right, I am going to do this. Come on’. But I watched the formation lap and that was that. I lasted five minutes. “I don’t know what it is, but if you talk to any person who has worked, lived and breathed Formula One – no matter if that is for 20 years or 20 minutes – it does something to you. It absorbs you, and when you leave, particularly involuntary like I did, it is very difficult to watch it and not feel that loss.” Claire dovetails speaking engagements and “top-secret television projects” with her role as brand ambassador for Williams Advanced Engineering. Earlier this year, she launched the Frank Williams Academy in her father’s honour. The project aims to raise £1.5m to help educate and train those affected by spinal cord injuries. She also revealed Sky offered her the chance to return to the F1 paddock as a pundit. “It was too soon,” said Claire. “It is better when you leave, you leave. “Unless someone said to me, ‘Come back and be a team principal and you can have Williams back’, I don’t necessarily think there is a job I would want, but never say never.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Daniel Ricciardo dreaming of Red Bull return ahead of F1 comeback How does Max Verstappen and Red Bull compare to the greats of Formula One? Lando Norris ‘honoured’ to join Lewis Hamilton in battle for Formula One glory

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