Chris Coleman has taken a bullish approach to his contractual position with the Football Association of Wales by saying he intends to “rattle a few cages” with his employers to persuade them to make the structural and staffing changes that will convince him to sign a new deal.
Speaking less than 48 hours after Wales sealed their place at next summer’s European Championship finals, Coleman made it clear the FAW will need to match his ambition and be prepared to come out of their “comfort zone” before he agrees to extend his contract.
The manager’s deal expires at the end of the finals in France, where Wales will make their first appearance at a major tournament since 1958, and there is no suggestion that the 45-year-old wants to do anything other than remain in charge of his country and lead them into the 2018 World Cup qualification campaign.
Coleman is determined to ensure Wales capitalise on their success over the past year by implementing the sort of changes that will increase their chances of Euro 2016 not being a one-off, and that is the message he will take into his contract discussions next month.
“When I talk about the need to make changes, I am talking about the structure mainly,” Coleman said. “I have had light conversations with a couple of people about the structure and how we can improve. We need to keep pushing forward. Because we have qualified people may think nothing needs to change, as we have done it. That is not the case, you can always get better and always keep pushing. We can never be in a position where we feel comfortable. Once we get into that position you never keep achieving.
“It is up to me to go and rattle a few cages and say: ‘We have done this but to get to the next stage we need to change certain things.’ We need to come out of our comfort zone. People do not like doing it as they do not know it. It is new territory and it makes them feel inferior. Until you get to that place it is suck it and see. You have to be prepared that a plan can backfire but you have to be ready to take the criticism and have something you really believe in. So when I sit down and speak with everyone I want to do things a bit differently.”
Asked whether failure to buy into his vision would prevent him from staying on, Coleman replied: “I have no idea. It is not like I have a completely different plan and they will go: ‘What’s that?’ There are certain things we need to change. It is staff, how we run the structure, along those lines – we have succeeded but how can we improve? I kind of know how to do it but that is a conversation with the powers that be.”
There will certainly be no shortage of goodwill towards Coleman on Tuesday evening, when Wales host Andorra in a final qualification fixture that has nothing riding on it but promises to be quite an occasion as a sellout crowd acknowledges the achievements of a team which has created history.
Gareth Bale is set to start, with Real Madrid making no request for him to be rested in light of the game being a dead rubber, and there is the prospect of the world’s most expensive player lining up against more glamorous company for his country next month, with Wales trying to arrange a couple of friendlies against leading countries. Coleman said he would be open to the idea of bringing Portugal to Cardiff, in a match that would be billed as Bale against Cristiano Ronaldo, while Poland are confident of setting up a match in Warsaw on 13 November.
For now, though, it is all about soaking up what Coleman described as “not a normal time in Welsh football”. The manager admitted he had yet to watch footage of the 2-0 defeat by Bosnia & Herzegovina on Saturday because he has been so distracted. “Normally I’d look at it three or four times the day after. But I just keep looking at the table. You never spell Wales with a Q!”
Not that he views himself in a different light all of a sudden. “I don’t think I’m absolutely fantastic, I don’t think I reinvented football or the way I coach is so different from anybody else,” Coleman said. “I’m not one of these new-age coaches that think: ‘I’ve got this plan and no one has ever seen it.’ It’s been hard work, we’ve had a game plan, we’ve had a bit of luck, we’ve got some good players and it’s all worked for me.
“I’m thrilled to pieces for Wales and extremely proud I’m the manager that qualified. But I don’t think I’m anything special.”
