Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill has bemoaned his side's lack of preparation after they were trounced 6-0 by the Netherlands.
The 42-year-old was forced to hand debuts to three players at the Amsterdam Arena following a spate of injuries, which he claims has left his squad threadbare.
O'Neill, who was taking charge of only his second game, said that the Northern Irish FA must be smarter in the scheduling of international friendlies after the season's end.
"The gulf in class was evident between the two teams," said O'Neill. "We had a mismatch in terms of preparation. We have players who haven't played for five or six weeks since their season finished and Holland have been together for three weeks preparing for a major tournament.
"It was difficult for us being a bit off the pace against a team who were right on top of their game. We took a bit of a spanking, no doubt about that, but we'll lick our wounds and deal with that.
"Losing key players is frustrating for any manager but the main lesson for us is to be a bit more sensible in the scheduling of our fixtures. When you come into an arena like this, with 52,000 people, against a team of Holland's class you would like to have as many of your big guns as possible."
O'Neill was appointed manager in December.
Michael Penkman
