HOW COLEMAN HAS INSPIRED WALES’ BAND OF BROTHERS

WALKING gingerly in the corridors of Nicosia’s GSP Stadium after a leg-sapping performance, Ashley Williams stopped to speak about the togetherness of the Wales team he captains. They were words he has expressed many times before and perhaps to begin with they came across like crowd-pleasing sound bites. Nobody can doubt their authenticity now. For those wondering how Wales have reached the brink of qualification for a first major tournament since the 1958 World Cup, Williams’s testament is a good place to begin. Around an hour earlier, he was engulfed in a bouncing swarm of bodies celebrating Gareth Bale’s towering header. Real Madrid’s costliest ever player had scored the goal that beat Cyprus 1-0 to effectively confirm his country’s place at Euro 2016. He instantly ran to the touchline to embrace manager Chris Coleman (below), his staff and the whole Wales squad. Other players of his calibre might draw the spotlight on themselves. Not Bale. His quality is distinct but these are players he has grown up with and he evidently revels in the shared experience. The 26-year-old has reached 50 caps, so too Wayne Hennessey, Chris Gunter and Joe Ledley at similar ages. It is a healthy group who genuinely like each other and that is invaluable on journeys abroad. Into the small hours after the 3-0 win in Israel last March, they enjoyed a guitar session and sing-along at the hotel, with Bale chatting away to Owain Fon Williams, the goalkeeper now at Inverness. No diva afflictions here. The motto ‘Together Stronger’ has been coined for this campaign and it has become more than a gimmicky slogan, evidenced by the united singing of the national anthem before each match, arms linked. The fans have played an important role too. There were 3,500 in Nicosia, 6,000 in Brussels. They packed an end in Andorra despite the tricky destination, spilling on to the pitch when Bale scored the winner. ‘My message to them is to get carried away, enjoy this — they’ve waited a long time,’ Coleman said. ‘But myself, the players, my staff can’t get carried away. We won’t. By hook or by crook, it doesn’t matter if we’re tired physically or mentally, we’ve got to get ourselves ready for another huge game.’ That has been the theme throughout this campaign — continuing to win games in circumstances previous teams might have let slip. Incredibly a win over Israel would take Wales to fourth in the world, above Brazil. Reaching a major finals is the main consideration, though. The memories of past collapses should prevent any complacency. The list of names to fail would make some fantasy XI, Neville Southall, Gary Speed, Ryan Giggs, Craig Bellamy, Ian Rush and Mark Hughes among them. This crop are intent on avoiding that fate.