Rob Page dedicated Wales' World Cup qualification to Gary Speed.
The Red Dragons booked their place at this year's tournament in Qatar courtesy of a 1-0 win over Ukraine in the play-off final. It brought an end to Wales' 64-year wait to play in the biggest tournament in world football.
And speaking after his side's triumph at Cardiff City Stadium, Page paid a touching tribute to former Wales player and manager Speed, who tragically took his own life at the age of 42 in 2011.
Read more: Wales pause World Cup celebrations for wonderful gesture to Ukraine fans
"I've said in the build-up, Gary Speed started this 12 or 13 years ago," explained Page. "I want to dedicate this to Gary. He started the culture, 12 years ago. There was a difference, there was a change. The environment completely changed. I've inherited that, Chris Coleman took it on and took it to another level, and I've inherited that group.
"We're confident going into games now. We don't hope to qualify for the World Cup or Euros now, we believe we can do it, so there's been a massive change in the mentality as well. I had a difficult decision tonight. I've got people like Harry Wilson and Brennan Johnson, who is going to be a superstar, isn't he. You've got people like him who didn't start tonight. But we had our best 11 on the pitch.
"It's encouraging, it's good, we're going in the right direction. We need to continue to develop these young players that we have done for the last few years, and it's only going to get better for us."
Wales players celebrated wildly after Andriy Yarmolenko's own-goal settled what was a frenetic encounter. But they briefly cut short their scenes of ecstasy to show their respect to Ukraine's players and fans amid the country's ongoing war with Russia.
All players and coaches in the Welsh squad applauded the away supporters in the aftermath of the match while the message "Together Stronger" was display on the stadium's giant screens on top of the Ukrainian flag.
And Page was full of praise for Oleksandr Petrakov's men following their monumental efforts in the play-offs amid extreme adversity.
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“We’re fully aware of what’s going on and we fully disagree with it, of course we do," added the Wales boss. "At the end of the game, we just wanted to show our appreciation to them and what they’re going through as a nation.
“I thought their team were outstanding in the two games and they deserve a lot of credit for what they’ve done, and their supporters as well. We wanted to show them that respect.”
Wales will face the United States of America, Iran and England at the World Cup later this year. The full fixture dates and kick-off times are available here.
