Chris Coleman insists Wales will not be going to Euro 2016 to simply make up the numbers.
Wales booked their place at next summer's European Championship in France despite losing 2-0 in Bosnia-Herzegovina on Saturday night.
Israel's home defeat to Cyprus confirmed Wales' first qualification for a major tournament since the 1958 World Cup, but manager Coleman's focus has already turned to making an impact among the European elite.
"We can't be going there thinking: 'It'll be nice"' Coleman said.
"It'll be nice if we perform, it'll be nice if we compete, that's what it's about.
"It's not about creating history and leaving a legacy. It's about keeping it going, keep performing, keep progressing.
"Now we're there, great. But what we've got to do now is perform against some top teams.
"We've already done that in this campaign, so there's nothing to be afraid of.
"We won't be going there thinking: 'It doesn't matter because we've got there'.
"The players won't have that attitude and probably the real pressure starts now."
Despite their lofty FIFA world ranking of eighth, Wales are set to be placed in the bottom band of seeds at December's Euro 2016 draw due to their low UEFA coefficient rating.
But Wales could prove dangerous opponents in tournament football as their defence has been one of the meanest in European qualifying and in Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale they have a proven match-winner.
"We've got the sort of players where we can soak it up and on our day we can hurt anybody," Coleman said.
"In this campaign we've got better at making the right decisions, when to close teams down and when not to close them down.
"In international football it's not all about running about for 90 minutes like chickens without any heads - you'll just get picked off.
"It's about decision-making and we've got better at that, more streetwise in this campaign.
"We've played like a good international outfit and that's why we've got results. We're either holding on to a 1-0 or a 0-0 and that takes real discipline.
"The group has grown immensely in this campaign, they've really matured and in big games they've produced nine times out of 10."
Coleman's current contract expires at the end of Euro 2016 but talks are planned for him to extend that deal and guide Wales into the next World Cup campaign.
"After this I would probably sign a 10-year contract the way I feel at the minute!" Coleman said.
"Seeing the sheer delight on the faces of the Welsh fans, I can't describe how pleasing that is for the players and the staff. That feeling is worth anything.
"If I did part company with Wales, for whatever reason, when am I going to get the chance to work with the type of quality players we have?
"But there are things that we need to change a little bit if we're going to push on and don't want this to be a one-off.
"We want to build on this and that will be important in any decision that is made going forward."
Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey feels reaching France could pave the way for long-term Welsh success.
"To get this country to a major championship is an amazing achievement because we are not a massive nation," Ramsey said.
"We are a nation with a lot of hungry players for success and hopefully we can stay at this level now.
"We have had some really low times but we have stuck together as a team and got better with the years."