Thread by @CoachesVoice

🗣️ "We were beaten in Italy, 4-0. After the game, Bobby Gould said he wasn’t going to continue. He had recommended that myself and Neville take charge."

A THREAD! 👇 Mark Hughes on coaching Wales, managing with @NevilleSouthall and losing in the Euro 2004 playoff 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

@NevilleSouthall 🗣️ "It was news to me, and news to Nev as well. There was no inkling he was going to do it. It was certainly dropped on our toes to a certain extent, but we got on with it."

@NevilleSouthall 🗣️ "The match itself was at Anfield. I was actually still playing, so I was in the starting line-up and @NevilleSouthall was on the sideline. We lost to two late goals, but we got through it. I went back to Southampton, while the Welsh FA invited people to interview for the job."

@NevilleSouthall 🗣️ "I remember being on holiday in Cyprus that summer, and ringing up to make sure my name was still on the list of candidates. They gave me an interview, and I got the job for the next two games: away in Belarus and at home to Switzerland."

@NevilleSouthall 🗣️ "We won the first and lost the second, but I’d clearly shown enough in terms of my preparation and how I wanted to shape the team. I got the job, and kept it for the next four years."

@NevilleSouthall 🗣️ "At that time, Wales were very often the third or fourth seed in any qualifying group – so it was always very difficult for us to qualify. I’d come close as a player on a few occasions, and then as manager I had that disappointment again with Euro 2004."

🗣️ "We made it to the playoffs, where we faced Russia. A huge country and a big team, so it was going to be difficult for us, but we got a 0-0 draw away and I think we all thought we would bring them back to the Millennium Stadium and finish the job."

@RobbieSavage8 🗣️ "We got beat 1-0, and I think on the night we probably just froze a little bit – and I include myself in that. I always look back on that day and think my decision-making wasn’t as good as it needed to be in terms of substitutions and understanding the momentum of the game."

🗣️ "That’s one thing that definitely comes with age and experience as a coach. You understand better what is actually happening at any given moment in a game, and you learn from the experiences you’ve had what the correct decision in those moments are."

🗣️ "In that playoff against Russia, I wasn’t as strong or assertive as I needed to be as a coach."