Ben Davies has praised in-form Brennan Johnson for “letting the football do the talking”. The Tottenham team-mate has scored an extraordinary goal since Wales and his social media deactivation.
Johnson quit Instagram after being the target of online abuse following Spurs' defeat to arch-rivals Arsenal in September, but has since gone on to score in each of Tottenham's last six matches.
“Maybe the outside world was a bit on his case but the team-mates certainly weren't us,” said Davies, who captained Wales in Iceland on Friday in the absence of the injured Aaron Ramsey. “It shows what a strong character he is. It's hard to know what someone is doing at a given time and it's not a good place to be if you're criticizing, but Brennan has come out and let his football do the talking.
“The noise outside is not something you can control, but you can control what you do on the pitch and he seems to be doing that better now. He is still a young player but the hardest thing in football is scoring goals. If he can keep doing that, who knows where he could go?
“As a team player, I'm happy to see him keep scoring and he's doing well, but we'll see how quickly opinions can change. Even when he had a so-called rough patch, it was two games, but he still had chances, he was still in the right areas, and if he doesn't do that we'll have more problems.
Johnson is central to Craig Bellamy's plans as Wales manager and is primed to start in Reykjavík. The Wales manager said he had not noticed any difference in Johnson compared to last season, when the 23-year-old featured in the September draw against Turkey and the win over Montenegro. “He's a very humble kid, he's just great to be around,” Bellamy said. “The team loves him. He clearly enjoys being here – he always has. He is the same as he was in the first camp. He is great to be with. “
Bellamy insisted he was keen to look after his squad and staff following the shock deaths of recalled Wales defender Rhys Norrington-Davies, winger David Brooks and third-choice goalkeeper Adam Davies, former Sheffield United club mate George Baldock. Baldak, who played for Panathinaikos in May against Olympiakos last Sunday, was found dead at the bottom of the swimming pool of his apartment in south Athens on Wednesday.
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“I love football, but it's not the most important thing,” Bellamy said. “The welfare of the players is paramount, that's where my mind went [on Wednesday night] It is now. We have players who are close to him and have played with him over the years. We also have employees who have worked with him for years. First of all, condolences to his family, which takes you back to … I was talking to his brother Sam [Brighton’s pathway academy coach] The other day at a game.”
