Wales 1 Macedonia 0: Victory is most enjoyable for Chris Coleman but he insists it hasn't changed his future

Manager Chris Coleman described Wales' 1-0 win over Macedonia as one of his most enjoyable, but believes it has changed nothing when it comes to the subject of his future.

The Dragons, missing 11 players from Coleman's initial squad selection, ground out a first win in five games thanks to Simon Church's close-range finish, before the otherwise excellent Aaron Ramsey failed to convert a penalty.

Goran Pandev and Nikolce Noveski spurned two excellent chances for the visitors, but they could not find an equaliser and deny Craig Bellamy victory in his final home game for his country.

Coleman's position is under scrutiny after last month's defeats by Macedonia and Serbia led Football Association of Wales chiefs to stall over a two-year contract extension until after the end of the Group A campaign.

Coleman's irritation with the situation has been clear to see and he has demanded the full backing of the FAW if he is to continue, while admitting the association has asked him to change his backroom staff.

The fourth victory of his tenure comes at a timely juncture, but the 43-year-old does not believe it will alter the ultimate decision as to whether he stays or goes.

He said: "The contract will be talked about but nothing has changed. I am not sure what anyone can do if we haven't got our best players all the time.

"We need all our best players for a lot more of the time than we have had. It would make no difference what manager is sitting here in front of you.

"I don't know what I can do when we haven't got them. I know what I can do when we have them and how we can play.

"But we have come into this camp, with a lot of withdrawals and we have won. We now face a huge test on Tuesday against one of the best teams on the planet in Belgium and I am not looking beyond that."

But Coleman was delighted with the manner in which his patched-up side performed.

"Had we lost this game, I would have been out the door, no doubt," he said.

"It's a win and, for me as a manager, looking at our squad of players and all the pull-outs we had, I am delighted.

"I wanted us to look after the performance and we did that. We may have ridden our luck a bit but I thought we deserved to win.

"I enjoyed the win tonight more than any other because there has been a lot said and we were up against it. The players stood up to the test."

Victory over Macedonia ensured Craig Bellamy's final home game in a Wales shirt ended on a positive note and Coleman praised the performance of the 77-cap forward, who is understood to be among those being considered as a possible replacement for the Wales boss, as part of an inexperienced squad.

"Craig was magnificent like everybody else," said Coleman. "We switched him to the left to look after Declan John on his first cap and he did a great job."

PA