Euros made us hungry for more
Coleman insists disappointment of missing final hardened Wales
WALES popped plenty of corks in celebration at their ride to the Euro 2016 semi-finals, but Chris Coleman is refusing to think about toasting more success just yet.
The Wales manager can too easily remember times when it felt like the wheels were falling off to allow for complacency at a good start to World Cup qualifying.
‘Any success I have had has not happened overnight,’ Coleman said. ‘The journey has never felt like me sitting in the back of a limousine sipping champagne. It has always been more like riding up a hill on a pushbike and the chain has come off.
‘It is so difficult and that is why a lot of people do not get to where they want to get to. Our boys, myself and the staff, we work really hard when we are together.
‘We all face pressure and we know what we are capable of, and they are prepared to do whatever it takes.’
Such a mentality explains why Wales, who are world-ranked 10th by FIFA, will not take Georgia at home for granted, nor be above looking to grind out victory against a side ranked 127 places below.
Georgia have won just one of their last nine internationals but, curiously, have found the better of Wales in each of their three previous encounters. For the Welsh there was a 2-1 friendly loss in Swansea in 2008, a 1-0 reverse in Cardiff in June 1995 and, most damagingly, a 5-0 thumping in Tbilisi in November 1994, a match Coleman played in.
‘I remember getting hammered,’ the former centre-back recalled yesterday. ‘They were dark days. That was my lowest moment in a Wales shirt.
‘I do sometimes touch on that with my players but we are lucky with this bunch, the attitude is first class. We have not had sunshine and rainbows, we lost a semi-final in the summer and it does not come any tougher than that.
‘It is those disappointments that bring you through. That is what hardens us to the situation we are in now. It is all to play for again, we have had a good start and there is a long way to go.
‘Georgia will be as tough as anything we face, for different reasons, in the next eight games. But we are ready.’
Coleman will be without Joe Allen, a significant blow given Wales are already missing Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey and creativity will be required to unlock stubborn opponents.
Allen’s hamstring injury, picked up in the 2-2 draw with Austria on Thursday, is deemed too problematic to risk. The midfielder may be back for Stoke on Saturday but he will not be extending his run of three goals in three games in Cardiff.
‘It’s a shame for us,’ said Coleman. ‘With the problem he’s got you could play him and it could go any minute. So you have to be very careful.’
Dave Edwards of Wolves is expected to come in but inevitably there will be even greater focus on Gareth Bale to provide the spark. The Real Madrid star yesterday underlined the importance of taking maximum points against Georgia.
Group D is tight with Wales joined by Serbia, Austria and Republic of Ireland on four points going into today’s games.
‘The point in Vienna was very well earned,’ said Bale. ‘That could be a crucial point come the end of the campaign. But we can’t afford to slip up against anybody, no matter who it is.
‘We will be gunning for three points. It is that snowball effect. We want to keep the momentum going.’
Bale urged patience from his team-mates and the sell-out crowd at the Cardiff City Stadium, which
was also needed in the opening game against Moldova, when it took 30 minutes for the deadlock to be broken in a 4-0 win.
‘That is the expectation we have set ourselves up for now,’ added Bale. ‘We have had a great couple of years. Teams are paying us a lot more respect so it is difficult to get that space and create opportunities.
‘I think we are slowly learning how to do it. Moldova was a good step in the right direction. We were very patient before we got the goal whereas before we maybe would have got really frustrated. But we can take our time and understand what we need to do.’
That might even include Bale taking his talent to the touchline again, with long throws not beneath the £86million man.
‘If it is something that can help us get something from the game, like it did in Vienna, then perfect,’ he said. ‘It is another weapon we have got and if we need to use it we will.’