Wales boss Chris Coleman prepares for his reunion with Serbia this week admitting he is still haunted by the worst night of his career against them.

Wales’s 6-1 away defeat to Serbia in September 2012 was among the heaviest in their history and left Coleman clinging to his job less than a year after his appointment.

Four years on, Coleman has a wry smile about his nightmare in Novi Sad as Wales eventually ended a 58-year wait to play at a major finals and then made it all the way to the semi-finals of Euro 2016.

“It was dreadful. We had a room upstairs (in the dressing room) with no lights,” Coleman said.

“I remember sitting in there with Kit Symons and Osian Roberts (his assistants) and I didn’t want to come out and talk.

“I was shell-shocked. It was the worst I’ve ever felt, the absolute worst. Losing as a player or a club manager is one thing, when it’s your country it’s amplified and I was responsible.

“The fans had paid a lot of money and travelled a long way to watch a shambles and that was my fault.

“There’s nothing worse than when you feel like you’ve let your country down – and I did that in a big way.

“It still haunts me, to be honest. But I think that’s quite good for me as well, because you never want to experience that ever again.”

Wales meet Serbia again in Cardiff on Saturday night with precious 2018 World Cup qualifying points at stake.

Coleman is a national hero these days, feted wherever he goes and recently handed the freedom of his home town of Swansea.

But he admits it could have been so different after a Wales side including Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey and Joe Allen were embarrassed in the Balkans.

“I’m a realist. I was hanging on to my job,” Coleman said.

“Leaving like that in the first campaign would have been drastic for me. I could never get that time back and make it right again, so thankfully I got a chance to do better.”