Chris Coleman has revealed he wants to create new memories with Wales to fill the void he felt after Euro 2016.
Having been denied a chance to talk to Hull City about their managerial vacancy, Coleman has insisted he is single-minded about guiding Wales to the World Cup in Russia in 2018.
But the man who took Wales to within one match of the European Championship Final this summer is also anxious to replace the “downer” he says he and his players felt after their adventure in France had come to an end.
When I got home, for the two weeks after it I think my wife was expecting me to be a certain way – and I was not,” said Coleman ahead of the opening 2018 World Cup qualifier against Moldova on September 5.
“I was on a bit of a downer. The situation is so exciting, it is exhausting but you have all that emotion.
“But when it finishes, you don’t get weened off it. It is over and you are back into reality as fathers and husbands.
“It was really hard and I know a lot of the lads did too. You miss that buzz.
“You feel like you need a rest when it is going on, but once it finishes you pine for it.
“It was so special, but it is gone, that moment is finished. We have to create something new.”
Coleman has had little time for relaxation since Wales were beaten by eventual European champions Portugal.
His TV presenter wife Charlotte gave birth to their second child, and Premier League Hull targeted him to fill their managerial vacancy before the Football Association of Wales rejected the Tigers’ approach.
But Coleman is now focused on a World Cup campaign which sees Wales pitted against Austria, Serbia, Republic of Ireland, Moldova and Georgia in the race for a place in Russia.
“I am not sure people think we will sail through the group, but there may be an expectation of us playing super attractive football, creating chances and scoring loads of goals,” said Coleman.
“If it goes that way it will be great, but I know football and it is rarely like that.
“Teams will not open up against us, they will do to us what we did to a lot of teams in the last campaign and sit back.
“We have to prepare for that challenge and be in the mix after the first five games.”
Wales are without injured pair Aaron Ramsey and Jonathan Williams for the Moldova opener in Cardiff, while goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey is also a concern after missing Crystal Palace’s 1-1 draw with Bournemouth on Saturday with a leg injury.
Euro 2016 hero Hal Robson-Kanu is also unlikely to start as the striker has yet to find a new club after leaving Reading in the summer.
But Coleman has promised the key is keeping the philosophy which has proved so successful in the last two years.
“We have stick to our identity,” said Coleman.
“When we are on the pitch the players have shown what it means to them to represent Wales.
“They stick to the game plan and if we get a good result against Moldova it has to mean the same as the results in the last campaign.
“Be it Andorra or Belgium, if we got something out of those games it meant the same. That is how it has to be.
“We spoke about being streetwise in the last campaign and we need to show it, especially in these opening games because it is a new challenge.”
