Playing for the boss is great... even when we get a roasting

IT is coming on six years since Chris Coleman became Wales manager. Plenty has already been written about the strides he’s made since first donning the national team’s suit. The evidence is there for all to see with the stunning qualification and run to the European Championship semi-finals.

History has been made, but time doesn’t stand still.

Questions and challenges will always come, and yet, as Wales go into tonight’s game with Moldova, Coleman continues to answer them.

When it came to the crunch, as Austria threatened to tip the balance against Wales in a pivotal moment of the campaign, Coleman – backed up by Osian Roberts and Kit Symons – came up with the goods to show he’s still improving.

Aware of the problems in the midfield, Coleman made a change. Aware that more was needed, he introduced Ben Woodburn. Some may say they were obvious calls. Maybe. But having the guts to go for it, not play safe or stubborn is another thing.

And yet, what makes the difference with Coleman is the stuff not seen on the outside, not able to be scrutinised in a studio.

It is a bond with a side that tops all tactics. It is his understanding of a group he’s been with for the past five years or so. It is his ability to read those players he knows so well.

And it is his comfort inside the confines of the dressing room – one containing stars of the very highest level – to know when to let them have it.

“We came in at half-time against Austria and the gaffer got a little bit old school with us, how he used to be,” revealed captain Ashley Williams. “I couldn’t tell you the last time he did that with us but it was perfect.

“We changed it tactically, as you could see with the formation, but take that out of it and it comes down to something we are normally very good at and don’t lack. Not about the quality, but that fight. We need to get that right first and foremost, before any tactics.

“Tactically, he showed that he’s brave to change something he wanted to do at the start.

“What you guys didn’t see is what he got spot on at half-time and I think the result is down to him with his half-time team talk.”

Williams admitted he’s probably “weird” for doing so, but he enjoyed the roasting dished out by a manager who has shown over time his strength has come from fire in the heart but ice in the veins. Preparation has been key, leading by pushing forward other members of the coaching staff, making sure every detail is there for the players to perform, all have been vital steps in Coleman’s improvement.

But it’s a statement of how far Coleman has come with this team, how he has complete faith in the group that – on top of the science and analysis – he is able to call when to unleash the old, tough, centreback in him. Anyone can rant and rave, but not everyone can make an impact with it.

The hope will be that it won’t be needed in Moldova, that it can be locked away for a while.

But while the World Cup dream remains, so do questions over who else could raise that kind of response?

“There’s no point even thinking that,” said Williams, aware Coleman’s contract will end after this campaign but more aware of the need to just concentrate on making sure it extends to Russia. “We enjoy playing for him, I think that’s obvious to see, and I think he enjoys being around us. We wouldn’t want to play for anyone else right now.

“It’s to a point that, when we don’t perform to the level we expect or when you know you’ve got more to you personally and as a team, it’s not just you feel you’re letting yourselves