Wales manager Chris Coleman believes simply reaching Euro 2016 will not be enough for Welsh football.
Coleman will lead Wales at their first major tournament for 58 years in just over 50 days’ time when the country’s European Championship campaign kicks off against Slovakia in Bordeaux.
And, while his contract talks to take Wales into the 2018 World Cup campaign remain ongoing, Coleman was very much looking towards the future as he promoted a youth football initiative in Newport.
“Qualification must not be a one-off,” said Coleman. “If it is, then we haven’t done our job properly.
“Everyone has dreamt about going to a tournament, but now we’re in a place of power we’ve got to capitalise on it.
“The next generation is obviously going to come from grass roots, so the key is how do you cut through the levels and produce better coaches and better players.”
Wales have not graced a major finals since John Charles and company qualified for the 1958 World Cup in Sweden.
That long wait will end in France this summer with England, Slovakia and Russia their group opponents, but Coleman insists Euro 2016 must represent the start for Wales and not the end of the process.
“In one way it’s a dangerous place where we are,” said Coleman.
“Sitting back and saying ‘Great, we’ve qualified’ is us failing really. What we’ve got to say is ‘Where are we going to take it?’
“We’ve got a great opportunity to push this forward and really take it on, and rather than us qualifying once every 50 years we should be doing it a lot more.
“What we’ve got to do from here is achieve back-to-back qualifications, two out of three, three out of five.
“We’ve got to be up there consistently punching and producing good young players to fit into the system.
“It will be very tough to do that, but psychologically we’ve broken that barrier by qualifying.
“Not doing it for so long has left a mark, but we’ve got over that now and the challenge in future will be to qualify again.”
Coleman was speaking at a new partnership between Lidl, the Football Association of Wales and Welsh Football Trust to provide youngsters with the organisational and planning skills to deliver their own football activities.
The programme is designed to create 1,000 young ‘Directors of Football’ and engage 30,000 players, and the Wales boss believes the country has the perfect model in Real Madrid superstar Gareth Bale.
“People talk about better facilities, but it’s about better coaches to coach the kids and improve them whatever age they are,” said Coleman.
“Everyone is talking about the Euros in Wales and that gives you a boost, there’s a fantastic buzz and vibe.
“Everybody looks to Gareth Bale and rightly so because he is a great player.
“But it’s not just what he does on the pitch, it’s how he is as a sportsman.
“He’s a role model but we’ve also tried to create a culture with this Welsh team, a pressure to represent your country properly.
“We challenge them because we know these young children are watching us.
“Gareth Bale is at Real Madrid, but he’s a great example of that culture.”
