Chris Coleman is making no excuses for Wales’ poor performance against Bosnia-Herzegovina, but believes a sense of perspective is needed given the trauma the squad so recently experienced.

The 2-0 defeat at Parc-y-Scarlets in Llanelli was far from ideal preparation for the start of the World Cup qualification campaign against Belgium in Cardiff next month.

Wales failed to find the net for a third game in a row and were shaky at the back, particularly against the guile of Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, who excelled for the visitors.

Coleman was forthright in his assessment of the display and warned that unless there is a major improvement Wales will have little hope of reaching Brazil 2014.

The pessimism felt following Wednesday's reverse is a far cry from the positivity emanating from the camp following a 4-1 win over Norway last November.

That result was a fourth win in five games under Gary Speed, but his death just two weeks later led to a huge outpouring of grief from a disbelieving football community.

And Coleman believes the emotional impact of the loss of their manager is still having an effect on the squad, who have played just three times in the intervening nine months.

He said: “We have got to be fair to the players, a lot has happened to them.

“I don't want to keep bringing it up, but the reason I am there in the dressing room is a situation that no-one saw coming. We have only been together three times since.

“But I thought we had enough quality to do better then we did and we are not going to duck the fact that it will be a long campaign if we cannot improve on this display.

“There were not many positives from this game but maybe that is a good thing,” he added.

“With the quality of the players in our group, if we are our not at our maximum we won't get enough points that's for sure.

“We know with our strongest side we have a chance against most teams. But I am wary about making excuses.

“Even when we have got everyone we have got to be better than we were in all departments.”