John Toshack hopes that his decision to step down as Wales manager might help the side qualify for the Euro 2012 finals (Wales 20/1 To Qualify).
Rumours began to spread that the 61-year-old was set to quit after the Welsh lost their opening Euro 2012 Group G match to Montenegro and now the former Liverpool striker has confirmed that his six-year tenure has come to an end.
Toshack has enjoyed relatively little success while in charge of Wales and failed to guide his side to any major tournament finals during his spell in charge.
He also had a very public spat with Robbie Savage, which resulted in the much-travelled midfield hard man calling time on his international career at the age of just 30, as he refused to conform to Toshack’s methods.
Toshack spent just 41 days in charge of Wales back in 1994 before quitting the job, but his first unsuccessful spell did not put him off having another crack at the seemingly impossible task of guiding a country with such a small pool of players to the heights of a major championship.
The former Real Madrid boss hopes that by leaving at an early stage of the current qualifying campaign, it will give his successor the chance to have a real go at reaching Poland and Ukraine in two years time.
“Wales are still very much in this group, and now the decision has been made hopefully they’ll be able to get some positive results in the next two games,” he said. “If the results do go against us, I think I would have preferred that to happen with me still in charge.”
The Cardiff-born tactician revealed that he has planned to look at the situation after Wales’ first three qualifiers and made it clear that he was initially prepared to carry on for two more games after the opening group defeat (Wales 33/1 to win Group G).
But, after consultation with the FAW, it was felt that the time was right for a change at the top.
“I thought after three matches of this group we would review everything,” he said. “Even after the disappointment of the game in Montenegro that was still the way I felt.
“But we have come to the agreement that this might be better for everyone concerned.”
Wales are already six points behind England and Montenegro in Group G, having played one game less, and face qualifying matches with Switzerland and Bulgaria next month.
The search for Toshack’s successor is now underway and Stoke Boss Tony Pulis has already ruled himself out, saying that it is “too early” for him to consider at present, while Dean Saunders, Chris Coleman and Ian Rush have all been mentioned as possible candidates.
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