Wales manager Mike Smith was rewarded with a new three-year contract at the end of 1977, nearly doubling his annual salary in the process. He led the side to another second place finish in the 1977–78 British Home Championship, before enjoying a positive start to qualifying for the 1980 European Championships. They began their campaign by defeating Malta 7–0 at the Racecourse Ground with Ian Edwards scoring four of his side's goals. This was followed by a 1–0 victory over Turkey before they finished the first round of fixtures by losing 2–0 to West Germany. A third consecutive second place finish in the 1978–79 British Home Championship followed, which included a John Toshack hat-trick in a 3–0 win over Scotland, before Malta were defeated again in June 1979. However, the side's good form came to an end as they suffered defeats to West Germany and Turkey to finish third in their group and failed to qualify for the 1980 World Cup. Byron Stevenson later received a four-and-a-half year ban from international football after breaking the jaw of an opposition player in the latter game. The match was also Smith's final game in charge of the national side as he accepted an offer to manage Hull City.