MARK Hughes will send his Welsh players out to battle the glamorous Italians tonight in their pivotal Euro 2004 qualifier with an inspirational warning.

"My players know they might not have a better chance of qualifying for a major final than this," insisted the Wales boss.

The Welsh have not qualified for the finals of a major tournament since the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, when eventual champions Brazil knocked them out in the quarter-final.

Now Hughes' class of 2003 lead Group Nine - but the Azzurri are breathing down their necks, two points behind. And the Manchester United legend knows Wales will not have a better chance of ending their 46-year championship drought.

"The players know what a big chance this is," he affirmed.

"We want to achieve something that no other Welsh team has accomplished for many years and reach a major finals.

"It was something I missed out on as a player."

Hughes maintains Wales have no apprehension facing the multi-million pound Italian outfit.

And he insisted: "The best way to show respect is to put their best players on their back-side.

"That's how to show we're prepared to stand up to players with such big reputations.

"We have been growing in stature since we beat Finland at the start of the campaign. We knew from then we could achieve something - let's not blow it now."