Football
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Wales concede they could struggle to hold on to Chris Coleman

Chris Coleman is "absolutely wedded" to the Wales job but his bosses at the Football Association of Wales (FAW) admit they would have a tough time keeping hold of him if he was tempted by a position elsewhere.

Coleman's stock has never been higher after leading Wales to the semifinals of Euro 2016, and he now has a two-year contract to lead the country in their bid to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

The 46-year-old's success in fostering a strong team ethic with Wales may make him an attractive prospect for Premier League clubs looking for a new manager over the coming months.

And FAW chief executive Jonathan Ford concedes he may struggle to convince Coleman to see out his contract if he wants to return to club management, but is hopeful that will not happen.

"I can't make him do the job, can I?'' Ford told BBC Radio 5 Live's Sportsweek. "At the end of the day, we do have a contract that has been signed but if somebody desperately says, 'I'm not going to do the job,' then you're going to have a tough time keeping them.

"There are procedures and there are policies in place with regards to that happening, but let's hope it doesn't. Chris is absolutely wedded to the Welsh, he is Welsh through and through, he'd run through brick walls for us. We're delighted with the progress we've made and I think he's delighted with the job that he's done.

"I don't worry about those things. My focus is on the job at hand -- we'll cross that bridge if we have to.''

Ford said Wales' success at Euro 2016 was "all down to teamwork."

"The team get on like a band of brothers but it's also the backroom staff we've got to thank, and all the FAW staff,'' he added.

"We've all worked so hard to make this a reality and we've got to thank the fans, they have been fantastic. It has been about coming together in the right way -- together stronger we achieved more than we possibly hoped.''

Ford said a key decision had been to invest the Euro 2016 participation fee for reaching the tournament in the best facilities the money could buy.

"The money that you get at the start of the tournament is to enable you to participate," he said. "I went to the board and said: 'I want to spend it all.'

"They allowed me to do that and we got the best hotel that we could, we got all the facilities right, we spent the money in order to give the boys the best chance of success on the field of play and it worked.

"There are extra spin-offs -- you do get more money as you progress through the tournament and of course more people bought more shirts. It was lovely going back [home] to a sea of red [supporters] -- the 'Red Wall' as they call it.''

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