Football Association of Wales president Phil Pritchard believes Chris Coleman's passion for his country makes him the right man to succeed Gary Speed.
Coleman, 41, was on Thursday confirmed as the new Wales manager on a contract that will take him through the qualifying campaign for the 2014 World Cup.
Some had questioned the appointment of the former Fulham manager, who also won 32 caps for his country as a player, believing his managerial record with the Cottagers, Real Sociedad, Coventry and Larissa does not mark him out for a job at international level.
In Coleman's defence his friend Speed, who died in November aged 42, was not a unanimously popular appointment when he took the reins in December 2010, but guided Wales to four wins from his final five games in charge.
While Coleman's time at Coventry ended ignominiously after a poor run of results, he managed to keep Fulham in the Premier League during his four-year spell in charge, and his exits from Real Sociedad and Larissa came with the respective clubs in strong league positions.
But Pritchard, who helped lead the FAW's dignified search for the man to fill the void left by Speed's death, says it was Coleman's burning desire to keep Wales moving forward that impressed.
"It hasn't been easy but it has been very pleasing for me and the council to know we have Chris on board to carry on the good work Gary did," Pritchard said.
"A lot of managers or potential managers are very similar in terms of qualification, but I have to say as a Welshman, passion comes through - the passion Chris has got to carry us forward, not only on behalf of the Welsh public and fans but particularly with the thoughts of Gary in the background.
"He has a lot of reasons why he wants to do it right for us and we are confident we have got the right man."
Coleman's appointment came just over a week after his departure from Greek side Larissa, who wasted little time in signalling their intention to take legal action against the FAW to secure compensation over the loss of the former boss, who they claim remains under contract.
But Press Association Sport understands the FAW are confident that they and Coleman have been thorough and correct in all matters relating to his appointment, and they believe Larissa's failure to pay Coleman and members of his staff due to their financial problems amounts to a breach of contract.
Coleman, who says he will take a "background" role for his first game in charge against Costa Rica next month, a fixture which is being held in Speed's honour, is to hold talks with his squad and the staff who served under his predecessor before making any decisions over the make-up of his own backroom team.
Coleman hinted he may bring in former Wales and Fulham team-mate Kit Symons as his assistant, although outspoken Dutchman Raymond Verheijen is popular with many of the senior players, including captain Aaron Ramsey.
But Coleman made it clear he has no intention of undoing the good work done by Speed, and understands that maintaining the high levels of professionalism within the set-up will be key to keeping his squad happy.
When asked if he thought the Wales squad would want to play for him, Coleman said: "What the guys want is they want it done professionally, they want structure.
"Long gone are the days from when I was a player that we used to meet up, have a game of golf and a couple of beers.
"Those days are finished, you don't prepare like that any more, not at the top level. We won't prepare like that.
"I think the players want to know it is going to be done right to give us the best possible chance of making a big impact.
"That is for me to sit down and convince them of that and they won't know until they come and experience it.
"I can't make them turn up and make them physically play for Wales.
"I have to hope they look at the opportunity of playing for Wales like I did as a player.
"It wouldn't have mattered to me who was managing my country, I was turning up.
"I didn't know what it was like when I was arriving but I was playing for Wales.
"Everyone is different though. These are different times, football is evolving. The players are changing and football has gone on to a different level in terms of the training and nutrition.
"That was one thing Gary got right. The players turned up and it was done right and correct. It is up to me to maintain that."
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