 He made his league debut four days later on 21 October during a 1–0 win over Lincoln City and his early performances saw him recognised as one of the most promising teenage defenders in Britain prompting interest from a handful of Premier League teams, even having offers rejected by Cardiff, and saw him handed his first cap for the Wales under-21 team during a 3–0 win over San Marino during the summer of 1996.He later went on to captain the team.He was a regular in the side under manager Frank Burrows, spending time playing at right-back, including becoming stand in captain when Dave Penney was injured.