Aaron Ramsey has been stripped of the captaincy for Wales after Chris Coleman decided to make a change after the embarrassing defeat at the hands of Serbia.

Wales were beaten 6-1 in a qualifier for the 2014 World Cup and Coleman has decided that there must be a chance, with Swansea defender Ashley Williams not taking the captains armband.

Ramsey had led Wales for the last 18 months after originally being handed the position by the late Gary Speed, however, performances have dipped during this qualifying campaign and Coleman is desperate to turn around the countries fortunes.

Aaron Ramsey
Ramsey has been stripped of the captains armband [Reuters]

Williams will lead the side in the next two games against Scotland and Croatia as Wales attempt to climb off the bottom of their World Cup group.

The relationship between Coleman and Ramsey has not been in the best in recent weeks, and it was further soured when the former Fulham boss looked to convince Stoke defender Ryan Shawcross to represent Wales.

The Stoke centre-back was the player involved in the tackle that led to Ramsey breaking his leg in six places and being ruled out of action for a significant time.

"It's his [Coleman's] decision who he brings and who he decides to play," Ramsey had told the BBC "I'm just the captain and a player who just turns up and wants to play for my country, so ultimately it's his decision."

Williams has previously captained his country on four occasions and is one of the most senior figures in the squad with Craig Bellamy and James Collins both ruled out through injury.

Bellamy has a calf injury, while Collins is unavailable due to a suspension after being shown a red card for violent conduct against Belgium.

Coleman is also without first choice goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey who has a knee problem, while back-up stopper Boaz Myhill is also unavailable due to injury.

That leaves the manager with the choice of either Jason Brown or Lewis Price, neither of which have played any league games this season.

Injuries have played a major factor in Coleman's selection as left-back Neil Taylor has a broken ankle and midfielder Jack Collison is also out of action with a persistent knee injury.

The Wales squad in full:

Jason Brown (Aberdeen), Lewis Price (Crystal Palace), Owain Fôn Williams (Tranmere Rovers), Darcy Blake (Crystal Palace), Ben Davies (Swansea City), Chris Gunter (Reading), Joel Lynch (Huddersfield Town), Adam Matthews (Celtic), Sam Ricketts (Bolton Wanderers), Ashley Williams (Swansea City, capt), Joe Allen (Liverpool), David Edwards (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Andy King (Leicester City), Joe Ledley (Celtic), Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal), David Vaughan (Sunderland), Gareth Bale (Tottenham Hotspur), Simon Church (Reading), Steve Morison, (Norwich City), Hal Robson-Kanu (Reading), Sam Vokes (Burnley).