Hughes wants to stay with Wales

MARK HUGHES still wants to lead Wales into the World Cup campaign next year.

The Welsh manager, who had just seen his side eliminated from the Euro 2004 play-offs by Russia, was immediately asked if he would continue in the job.

There has been constant speculation about his future with a number of top English jobs apparently his for the taking, but Hughes said:

"I am contracted to take Wales into the next qualifiers, that is the plan.

"Circumstances like the fact that we have not qualified, which I set out to do, will maybe mean people will have something to say about that.

"Given the choice I would like to stay. It is too early to say about what the players will do, there are lads who will be looking at their futures and making decisions.

"They will go away and take stock. My job is to try to get Wales to major championships, and I have now failed twice."

Meanwhile Wales soccer chief David Collins warned that his association would have to tighten their belts. The FA of Wales secretary general said: "This has cost us a minimum of £3.5million; that is the prize money we would have got for qualifying.

"Now there will have to be a reassessment on the financial side as this is going to have a major impact.

"It will not affect the squad but there will have to be belt tightening." Collins said: "We have had a fantastic championship. 18 months ago we would have been delighted to have been in the play-offs." Scotland manager Berti Vogts insisted he was proud of his players despite seeing them slaughtered 6-0 by Holland. Vogts insisted he had no desire to criticise a team that had defied the odds to beat Dick Advocaat's Dutch in the first leg.

He said: "I told my boys this morning, 'I'm very proud of you' and after this, again I am very proud of my players. We must learn from this style of football. That was international quality. The Dutch were great." He said: "That is the best group we have. There is only a little bit of difference between the quality of the Netherlands and us, not more." Holland manager Dick Advocaat admitted last night's performance was the one his team should have produced in the first leg.

He said: "Today we saw the way the Dutch should have played last Saturday pressing from the start.

"In the first half on Saturday the players did not do what I asked them to do but tonight they did. Earlier in the week Advocaat had indicated he might not stay on as manager even if the Dutch qualified but he made it clear he would be picking the team in Portugal.

Despite the victory the Dutch players refused to speak to the media following reports that some of them had partied on arrival back in Amsterdam on Saturday night.

Advocaat said: "I can understand that. They all have families at home and had a lot of explaining to do there. I can understand why they didn't want to speak to the media who have treated them so badly."