SERBIA gave plenty of Wales players nightmares in the last World Cup qualifying campaign but after a dream summer midfielder Joe Ledley is certain that things will be different this time.

Back in September 2012 a Wales side featuring Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey and Joe Allen was beaten 6-1 in Novi Sad.

Ledley missed that match but he was back for the return match a year later when the Serbians triumphed 3-0 in Cardiff.

Manager Chris Coleman faced calls for his head after those matches and has since referred to them as a watershed moment for him and for this squad.

And Ledley, one of the stars of Wales’ remarkable run to the semi-finals of Euro 2016, believes there will be no repeat of those crushing defeats when Serbia arrive for Saturday’s World Cup qualifier.

Recalling the 3-0 home loss to Serbia, the Crystal Palace midfielder said: “It wasn't the best performance, but we have come a long way from there.

“It's going to be a totally-different game to then, we've come on leaps and bounds and progressed very well.

“We always learn from defeats and we definitely learned from the Serbia game.

“The gaffer had just taken over then and was trying new formations and new systems.

“We took time to gel and if you look at us now, we've definitely gelled the way we wanted to.

“It wasn't just down to the management,” he added. “As players we needed to take responsibility too.

“It's down to us and we knew and believed in our ability as players and as a squad.

“We're a small nation and we wanted to be the only team to qualify for the Euros – and that's what we did.

“But we can't rely on what we did in the past. We've got to look to the future and hopefully a few more youngsters will come through as well."

Wales are unbeaten at home in competitive matches since that defeat to Serbia and Ledley is proud of that record at the Cardiff City Stadium.

“It's a fantastic atmosphere. We've waited years to get a full house and it's finally arrived.

“We're still undefeated in this competition and we want to keep it that way.

“We want to bring in young fans and hopefully they can achieve what we've achieved.”