Ipswich's McKenna and Wales' Bellamy 'cut from same cloth'

Nations League: Wales v Montenegro

Venue: Cardiff City Stadium Date: Monday, 14 October Kick-off: 19:45 BST

Coverage: Listen on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Sounds & live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app

Wes Burns believes Wales' new style under Craig Bellamy is "perfect" for his qualities given the way he operates under Kieran McKenna at Ipswich Town.

The winger missed Bellamy's first camp as Wales boss due to a hamstring injury but is included in the current Nations League squad - featuring as a second half substitute in Friday's 2-2 draw with Iceland.

And the 29-year-old feels there are plenty of similarities between Bellamy and McKenna.

"There's so many similarities between how he wants to play here and what I usually play like for Ipswich, at Ipswich it's front-foot football, high press, high-risk, high-reward football, so I should slot in seamlessly here [with Wales]," he said.

"It seems like they (Bellamy and McKenna) are cut from the same cloth. It's like they've come out of the same football school.

"Both want to play a good style of football, possession-based, try and score on every attack if possible. Then if we lose the ball there's an instant reaction to win the ball back as quickly as possible and swarm teams."

Promotion to the Premier League with Ipswich last season was the latest chapter in what is proving to be a remarkable story for eight-cap international Burns.

Prior to joining the Tractor Boys in 2021, Burns had huge concerns over the direction of his career, and feared he would never realise his ambition of reaching the top flight.

"I've played in every league in English football from the Conference to the Prem, so I think I've learned a few tricks along the way that may help me as the season goes on," he said.

"It's been some journey. Maybe if I looked back three or four years ago, I probably would have thought my dream of playing in the Premier League was near enough over.

"My time at Fleetwood was coming to an end and I was looking around for other clubs to kickstart my career again.

"I walked into an Ipswich transition that could go one of two ways - it c]an keep going downwards or we were going to spike like we have done.

"Luckily for me I found a manager that got the best out of me and has propelled me back to where the club wanted to go, but not only that, has helped me achieve my dreams."

Burns' Premier League debut was cut short as he sustained a hamstring injury during a 2-0 loss by Liverpool at Portman Road in August.

Following a month on the sidelines, Burns has returned to feature in four successive matches for Ipswich, and has started against Brighton, Southampton and West Ham.

The wideman has taken up pilates in a bid to overcome his hamstring issues, and feels he is adapting well to life as as Premier League player.

"To pick up an injury in the first game, I was a little bit devastated really. I worked hard to get back as quickly as possible," he said.

"I've seen a number of specialists, especially after my last time, to get on top of why it kept happening.

"In a game of football, there's so many variations. Someone can knock you off balance when you're running at high speed, it can send stresses through your body that don't usually go there and that's where injuries happen.

"Unfortunately for me it's just the nature of the beast. I'm trying pilates every morning so hopefully that takes the edge off it. It's tough because I'm not that flexible."

Burns added: "I've played fairly regularly since I've been back, I've started all games bar one, and I'm adjusting to life in the Premier League quite well I think. It's a very physical league, the quality of player is through the roof.

"Every team has got a squad that's more than capable of giving anyone a beating in the league, so it's mentally tough as well."

After returning to the international fold, Burns says he is playing catch-up having missed the 0-0 draw with Turkey along with Wales' 2-1 win in Montenegro in September.

Burns is now hoping to catch the eye of Bellamy, who he idolised when the former striker was playing for the likes of Newcastle United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Norwich City, Celtic and Cardiff City.

"I was at home doing rehab [for the first camp]. To see the style of play instantly was good," he said.

"Seeing so many similarities in set-up and formation to what I'm used to, I was already champing at the bit to get into the next camp because I knew I'd fit in straight away.

"Going over the meetings in the first couple of days, there's been a lot of recap of what has gone before in the last camp.

"Although they're going over it for a second time, I'm playing a little bit of catch-up in terms of the little details on defending and attacking stuff."

On his admiration of Bellamy's playing career, Burns added: "His football brain is mental, so I don't really want to go toe to toe in terms of talking too much football with him because his knowledge is through the roof, but I'll try and pick his brains every now and then.

"I used to love watching him, he was my style of player to a tee. Aggressive, front-foot football, [he] scored goals, feisty, loved a tackle, so I think there's a different respect for someone when they cross that line and go to the manager's side."