CHRIS Coleman has admitted Wales’ 1-0 win over Belgium is the highlight of his managerial career, but expects that won’t be the case by October.

Wales are now three points clear at the top of Euro Qualifying Group B, with a five point cushion over Israel in third and six points clear of fourth placed Bosnia.

And with just four qualifiers now standing between Wales and France 2016 and a first major finals appearance since 1958, Coleman admits it will be impossible to curb the enthusiasm of the Welsh fans.

A capacity crowd of 33,000 roared them to victory over the Red Devils thanks to Gareth Bale’s first half strike and Coleman admits the campaign is only going to get more exciting.

“A few emotions at the end, my staff were going crazy celebrating, but it all goes back to the last campaign,” he said.

“You gain strength through adversity and this campaign is putting pressure on us for the right reasons. It’s a great pressure to have and we’ve beaten Belgium, a top team with top players.

“We deserve to enjoy it.

“This is the biggest win of my managerial career, so far, but there will be a bigger game to come, the one where we can say ‘we are going to France.’ “I had some big relegation games as manager of Fulham, but this is different, it is your country and it means more.

“We’ve lost once in two years, away to Holland, there has been a lot of work done and this isn’t a fluke, we’ve taken four points off Belgium.”

Coleman admits his match winner Bale deserves a chance to shine on the biggest stage of a major international tournament.

“It would be such a shame if Gareth Bale didn’t play at a major tournament, you want to play at the top level and you want to sample that with your country. He’s desperate to succeed for Wales,” he said.

“The goal was superb composure, he was the calmest guy in the stadium, that’s what great players do and it is a great finish past a great goalkeeper.”

Coleman admits his side were far from at their best, but believes they deserved to hold on, especially with Wayne Hennessey enjoying a relatively quiet evening.

“It wasn’t pretty, we rode our luck a little bit, but we had to, Belgium are a great team,” he said.

“The feeling at the end I couldn’t put into words, I’ve never experienced anything like that. When you win as a club manager you feel relief, but this is different.

“But we can’t get carried away; we’ve got to live up to the expectation now.

“We are confident, I’m not just saying this after the fact, and I thought we could do this, we have the talent and belief.

“I’m not getting carried away but I will let the fans get carried away, they deserve it. We’ve had unbelievable support from them and it has just snowballed.

“The atmosphere in the dressing room is indescribable, incredible, you can feel the confidence. Beating a team you aren’t supposed to, it gives you a huge lift.

“We’ve played a lot better, but in terms of digging in and hanging on, it was absolutely fantastic. It came off for us tonight.

“Belgium are a better team now than the one that beat us in the last campaign, they use the ball so well. It is very difficult to stop them, hence why you need a little bit of luck.

“We worked hard on working without the ball, without possession and it paid off. I still think the team that finishes second in this group will be us, Belgium have the capacity to go on and win every game.

“But it was our night tonight, Belgium have to take it on the chin, they didn’t lose the game, we won it and we deserved it.”

Coleman believes that the class of 2014 have now officially eclipsed the 2004, with Coleman admitting he’s pleased to have answered some previously staunch critics.

“This group has been consistent, able to carry on momentum better than the last generation after we won the Italy game. We’ve been doing this for two years, not just six games.

“Every game as we go along gets bigger because we are doing the right things. I remember beating Italy and the results were not so good after that and we lost in the play-offs. But this group has been consistent for two years and that is why we are winning and we are where we are. We know the teams that have come before us but this is a different era. We are on our own path, we are not walking any else’s and we will keep our heads down and work.

“Some people want to dilute what I am doing and achieving, talking about the players coming through under Tosh and Gary Speed, but I don’t mind that, I don’t feel the need to stick my tongue out and say ‘look at what I’ve done.’ “We win together. Stronger together is the slogan and we believe in it.”