THERE may be only four changes to the Northern Ireland Women's squad from the Euros, three of them enforced, but there's a sense of a new era beginning.
The girls in green cannot qualify for next year's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand even if, as anticipated, they win next month's qualifiers away to Luxembourg and Latvia.
However, manager Kenny Shiels is embarking on the post-2022 evolution process by including youngsters Toni-Leigh Finnegan, Kerry Beattie, and Lilie Crooks Woods, and calling up Ellie Mason for the first time.
NI were already without two experienced players, defender Ashley Hutton having announced her international retirement after the Euros involvement ended with defeat by hosts England, while striker Simone Magill is out long-term with a cruciate knee ligament injury.
Thursday's news that record goal-scorer Rachel Furness is stepping away from the international scene for personal reasons was a shock, but in truth the loss of the Liverpool Ladies midfielder is not the major blow it would once have been.
Shiels praised her contribution over the years: "It's a big loss to us, allied to Ash [Ashley Hutton] going as well; I hadn't 'budgeted' my players for this happening, it came as a bit of a shock. But we wish her all the best, she has been a great servant to Northern Ireland.
Yet he also acknowledged that there'd been an element of 'rewarding' some long-serving players with the extent of their participation at the Euros:
"We've made a lot of sacrifices for the senior players, because I wanted them to experience this [the Euros] before the end of their career.
"It would have been very cruel of not to include them in the Euros finals; they've served us really, really well. As long as they're fit and able to compete, then I won't be turning any of them away.
"So my emphasis and priority was to support them, the senior players, much more so than the development players."
That was tough on the likes of Cliftonville defender Finnegan and striker Beattie, now back with Glentoran, but both are still teenagers until later this year and the aim is to reach more finals tournaments, with Shiels concluding:
"Now my emphasis is going to switch a good bit more towards developmental players who I feel are players for the future of this country."
