Euro 2020: What's next for Northern Ireland after play-off defeat?

Slovakia celebrate at the end of the matchPacemaker

Michal Duris scored an extra-time winner at Windsor Park

Former Northern Ireland winger Keith Gillespie says he thinks Ian Baraclough's side are set "for a difficult few years" after Thursday's Euro 2020 play-off defeat by Slovakia.

NI's hopes of making the finals ended with a 2-1 extra-time defeat.

With two Nations League matches and injuries to a number of senior players, Gillespie feels it it time to try some youth players.

"The boys are going to be exhausted, mentally as well," he said.

"It is going to be tough. We have two games coming up that we just don't need."

Former NI midfielder Sammy Clingan agrees that former Under-21 manager Baraclough should bring through the next generation of players.

Northern Ireland travel to Austria in the Nations League on Sunday before welcoming Romania to Windsor Park on Wednesday.

"It's going to be difficult for him to lift the boys after the defeat. We haven't started the Nations League games well at all, so it is going to be hard," said Clingan.

"Do you try and blood new players and the likes of Ethan Galbraith, put them in to see how they do? There's nothing to lose.

"I'm absolutely gutted for the likes of Steve Davis. He's 35 now and he has been an unbelievable servant for Northern Ireland but we do need to replace him.

"George Saville didn't do enough for me. He didn't want to get on the ball or dominate play from midfield, he made the mistake and then went into his shell after that.

"Jordan Thompson came on and he is a tidy player but it is a position we need to fill because Davis isn't going to be around forever."

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Ian Baraclough consoles Steven Davis after the defeat

Gillespie feels Northern Ireland's recent success was not sustainable given the small pool of players available to Baraclough and predecessor Michael O'Neill.

Important players such as Davis, Jonny Evans, Kyle Lafferty and Craig Cathcart are in their 30s and Gillespie says it will be a struggle to replace Northern Ireland's key men.

"We have had eight incredible years where the side has flourished and we have come close twice to qualifying for the World Cup and the Euros," said the former Manchester United and Newcastle United man.

"We are not going to have long periods where we can keep sustaining what we have done. We know that when we went 30 years without qualifying.

"We are a small nation and we don't have enough players to pick from where you can keep getting close to qualifying."