Kenny Shiels believes Thursday's Euro 2022 debut showcased how far Northern Ireland have come, and how far they still have to climb.
Shiels' side produced a spirited display against Norway but came out the wrong end of a 4-1 defeat at St Mary's Stadium. It was a night to remember for Julie Nelson who scored her country's first goal at a major tournament.
Northern Ireland are the lowest ranked nation at this summer's finals. They are currently 47th in the world, 36 places below Thursday's opponents Norway.
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And Shiels accepts his side still has some way to go before it can got toe-to-toe with the top sides in world football.
"Norway have the two best strikers in the world. And the end scoreline was hard to take because I thought we deserved better than that," he told the BBC.
"But when you reflect on that, their quality showed. We are three years into this programme and it is going to take 10 years to get us into the top 20 in Europe.
"It will take 10 years to consolidate the coefficient of that level, and if we continue to progress then we can do it maybe a bit quicker than that. But we have to get real and understand it is an emerging game in Northern Ireland.
"We have come in at the key point of it and created a monster because we have grown too quick. We are playing against teams of this ilk, and it is tough."
Trailing 3-0 at half-time, Crusaders Strikers defender Nelson headed home just after the break before Norway restored their three-goal lead through Guro Reiten's free-kick. Shiels believes there are positives to be gleaned from the game, especially his side's second half display.
"We finished 1-1 in the second half. We had creativity and got down the sides," he added.
"For half an hour we pinned them back, so that gives us encouragement. The girls were superb and they gave everything for their country and I am sure the supporters will be proud of them.
"We are learning all the time. An you can see that we started to believe as the game matured tonight.
"Experience is key, especially for the younger ones like Caitlin McGuinness, Abbie Magee, Kelsie Burrows, Emily Wilson - what a learning curve for them. It will help them, and they will help the growth of the game."
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