Bellamy earned 78 caps and scored 19 goals for Wales during a stellar playing career which included spells at clubs such as Manchester City, Liverpool and Newcastle United.
He missed out on representing his country at a major tournament, retiring from international football less than three years before Wales qualified for back-to-back European Championships and a World Cup.
Having served his coaching apprenticeship under now-Bayern Munich boss Vincent Kompany at Burnley and Anderlecht, Bellamy has returned to his homeland with the aim of taking Wales to the 2026 World Cup.
Before qualifying starts next March, however, Wales have a Nations League campaign to navigate in Group B4 alongside Turkey, Montenegro and Iceland.
Bellamy has only been working with his players since Monday, but has already made a big impression, with senior figures such as Connor Roberts and Harry Wilson expressing their excitement about the expansive new playing style.
That will be put to the test against a strong Turkey side on Friday. Although the stakes might be relatively lower compared to World Cup qualifiers, the Nations League can still provide a back-up route to major tournaments via play-offs.
And while results remain important in these games, Bellamy is aiming to instigate longer-term change.
“I see a young team, see a lot of talent coming through but, if I’m honest, I see a very good team right now,” he said.
“The way I’m looking to try and play with Wales is a little different to what they’ve done before. I need to be true to me but, with the talented players we have, if we can tweak and adapt one or two little bits it will give us a huge benefit going into future games.
“I’m conscious of a period in stamping on how we are going to play. It would be a little bit crazy for me to expect it straight away, but of course I will try.
“You talk about building blocks and future games, but this is your country, playing for Wales. Who’s to say you are going to have future games? Who is going to say you are good enough for that? Who’s to say I’m good enough for that? Every game is important, it’s your national team.”
