Shiels sets sights on future

By Andrew Haslam in Blois

Northern Ireland coach Kenny Shiels acknowledges that his side have found the going tough in their first two games at the UEFA European Under-17 Championship finals, but believes the experience will prove beneficial for Northern Irish football in the long term.

Qualifying surprise
Shiels guided his side to this tournament for the first time in their history just a year after Northern Ireland first appeared in the second qualifying round of the U17 tournament. However, joy at overcoming Belgium, Scotland and Belarus in the second qualifying round has been tempered somewhat by a 3-0 defeat by hosts France and a 5-2 loss to Turkey.

Another level
"We've found that we’ve gone to a different level for the players and we can't cope with them physically and we can't cope with their pace," Shiels told uefa.com. "The two teams we've played have been fantastic. Obviously they've got mass populations to select from, which we haven't got, but we can't keep singing that old song. I felt that the speed at which they played, their power and their strength, were all superior to us. There's a pattern where we concede three goals [in quick succession] against France and against Turkey the same."

Physical disadvantage
The Northern Ireland coach has an explanation for his side's tendency to concede goals one after another, saying: "It's down, I feel, to the mental side of our players. We're not physically as fit and as strong as the opposition and that has a big bearing on our performance."

'Brilliant experience'
Despite the disappointment of losing both Group A games to date, Shiels believes that this tournament could be the start of something remarkable for Northern Ireland. "It's a great experience for our lads to be out here; it's brilliant, it really is," he said. "It's important that we learn from this and the players improve from this tournament, and if that happens then we've succeeded. The players' development is paramount to why we're here.

'Really enjoyable'
"The lads really enjoyed Belgium in the second qualifying round. This hasn’t been as enjoyable and obviously results have had a big bearing on that. But they've enjoyed the experience, and the two big crowds we've had so far have been great for them from that point of view."

Professional organisation
The Northern Ireland coach has been impressed with his first experience of an U17 finals as a coach, saying: "The tournament is brilliant. It's great, I can't complain about anything – apart from the weather! The organisation has been very professional and that’s encouraging."

Part-time coach
Shiels works with Northern Ireland on a part-time basis, and believes that factor has had an adverse effect on his side. "From a scouting point of view, we haven't seen one ball been kicked, we've had no research, we haven't seen any of the other teams," he said. "We don't see any of the opposition until we play them. That's obviously a massive disadvantage."

New heights
In spite of the problems that his team face in comparison to the seven other finalists, the Northern Ireland coach is hopeful that being in such lofty company will inspire his players to greater heights and rightly recognises his side's achievement in reaching these finals. "To be honest, we've done fantastic to get this far," he said. "By rights, we shouldn't really be here."