Defeat against Scotland could be 'nail in the coffin' for Wales boss Chris Coleman

Neville Southall says time is running out for the Wales manager

Chris Coleman (Getty Images)

The pressure will be turned up on Chris Coleman if Wales lose this Friday’s ‘Battle of Britain’ against Scotland. A run of only two victories in seven games, and only three points achieved in qualifying means that his charges are all but out of World Cup contention. According to goalkeeping legend Neville Southall, the ex-Fulham coach may even find himself in the unemployment line if they find themselves on the wrong side of a result at Hampden Park.

He said: "Strachan will be given another chance if he loses, but I think with ours it (defeat) could nail the coffin for the manager, for us financially and for the fans. We are really struggling to get people in the door and when you have a player like Gareth Bale I find hard to understand, so we really need to win this one.”

Bale was the difference last time the two teams met, scoring a brace in the reverse fixture at the Millennium Stadium to grab Coleman’s only competitive win so far. The former defender, who won 32 caps for his country, was thrust into a delicate situation after taking the reins after the Gary Speed tragedy, and Southall believes he should be given some grace.

"Personally, I wouldn't sack him but if we lose this one there will be an awful lot of people queuing up to put a knife in his back. I think they should give him until the end of the campaign and have a look then, or give him another year.

"At the end of the day we have a certain number of players to choose from, you need stability and you need people to put things in place and he hasn't had enough time.”

Match-winner Bale missed training with the rest of the group on Tuesday, but should be fit to face Gordon Strachan’s men as both sides attempt to climb up the group.