Gordon Smith: Chris Coleman's success with Wales shows it's crucial to have the right man in charge

Wales manager Chris Coleman (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

There has been a lesson for Scotland to learn from the Euros. Namely that we have nothing to fear in the World Cup qualification campaign which lies ahead.

Wales, my dark horse tip for the tournament, won’t compete against France, my banker, in tonight’s showpiece Final.

That falls to Portugal, the team with the worst record of all 16 qualifiers for the knock-out stages.

While Ronaldo made the difference in the semi-final, the result couldn’t erase the fact that the Welsh really captured the hearts and minds of everyone watching Euro 2016, be it in the stadia or at home in front of their television screens.

From start to finish they were terrific, with their stirring victory over Belgium arguably the game of the tournament.

Some people won’t agree with me, but they did it with a squad comparable to that available to Scotland manager Gordon Strachan.

Yes, of course, Wales have Gareth Bale, a world-class talent. And Aaron Ramsey showed himself to be what we know he is – an exceptional midfielder.

Yet when Coleman turned to his substitutes bench to try to save the game against Portugal in the semi-final, it was notable he brought on two MK Dons players.

One was Simon Church, who Aberdeen fans know all about, and the other was Jonathan Williams, a loanee from Crystal Palace.

With respect to them both, we have better quality in our ranks in the shape of players like Matt Ritchie and Jordan Rhodes, who Newcastle United and Middlesbrough have shelled out a combined £20m in transfer fees to Bournemouth and Blackburn Rovers respectively this year.

Overall, in fact, I believe our squad is about as strong as that of Wales.

But what set them apart in France was their admirable team spirit and togetherness, and manager Chris Coleman has done a fantastic job.

So there may be lessons there.

The SFA are convinced that in Gordon Strachan they have the right man in charge.

In the months ahead, it will be up to the man himself to prove them right.

I also think our squad is stronger, possibly, than the Republic of Ireland and, certainly, Northern Ireland. And both those countries made it through the group stages.

So we look at them, we look at the heroics achieved by Iceland and we should have no reason to be fearful heading into a World Cup qualifying group with Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Malta and England.

I believe the latter will win the group and claim the automatic place in Russia.

After the shambles that was their Euro 2016 tournament, the English can only improve.

You look at how they struggled with some great players under the charge of Roy Hodgson – and how the Welsh excelled – and you can see just how important it is to have the right manager in place.

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