Northern Ireland: 'Evans deflated but beleaguered Baraclough insists building continues'

Evans wore the captain's armband on his 100th cap

Jonny Evans was so disappointed he forgot to hold on to his match shirt and instead swapped it with an opposition player.

He didn't even bother going to try to retrieve it.

This was not how the 100th appearance of one of Northern Ireland's greatest ever defenders was supposed to end.

And the 3-1 defeat by Greece in Athens was a million miles from how Northern Ireland's third Nations League experience was meant to finish, too, although there was very little about the six-game, two-camp campaign that went anywhere near according to plan.

Evans was standing on the side of the Georgios Kamaras Stadium pitch, reflecting on how the pain of defeat consumed him immediately after full-time on his milestone night - when he became only the fourth male centurion in his country's history.

The disappointment was palpable as he described how he and his team-mates had let the vocal 1,000-strong travelling supporters down, not just on Tuesday night, but across what had been a demoralising few months.

Some those fans called for manager Ian Baraclough to go at the final whistle, something that had also happened at times during the previous two matches.

"You do feel you let the fans down, especially at home games. At the end of the game I felt disappointed for the fans," the Leicester City defender said.

"It is incredible the number of fans who came out to Greece. We aren't trying to win the group and they are still here supporting us right to the end.

"You do have that sadness and disappointment for them. As players you don't always see that side of it. We are trying to entertain them and fill them with pride and there have been times in the campaign where we probably have felt we haven't done that.

"I don't think that's through a lack of trying or desire. I think performances just haven't been there for us."

Baraclough resolute as fans' morale crumbles

The results those performances have delivered have been crushing.

Having entered Nations League Group C2 in June as top seeds, Northern Ireland flew home from Athens on Wednesday with just five points from a possible 18 to their name. That's two draws and one win from six matches, with their sole victory having only been secured by an injury-time winner against Kosovo on Saturday at Windsor Park - just a few minutes after chants of "we want Bara out" were clearly heard from the Kop.

While they narrowly avoided a Nations League third-tier relegation play-off, their co-efficient now means they will drop into pot five for October's Euro 2024 qualifying draw.

It had all begun with optimism in June when, despite having a number of senior players unavailable, Baraclough set a target of four wins from the quadruple-header his side faced over a hectic 10-day period.

That target immediately became unattainable after a 1-0 opening night loss to Greece before, three days later, the strong sense of disgruntlement that was seeping from the Windsor Park stands turned into boos from the away fans at the end of a drab - and some would say fortunate - 0-0 draw away to Cyprus.

On to Kosovo, then, and it was ironic cries of "cheerio, cheerio" aimed at the manager when a late rally could not prevent a 3-2 defeat, and the harrowing 10-day period came to an end with a last-gasp 2-2 draw with the Cypriots in Belfast.

Throughout it all, the Northern Ireland manager's mantra has remained the same. Be it in pre-match or post-match media briefings, he has insisted that he is building towards Euro qualification and that his managerial performance should be judged on that.

The former under-21s boss has regularly referred to the number of young players he is giving vital senior international experience, and said he had no choice but to do that in the June window.

Most importantly, however, has been his firm stance that he is the right man to take the team forward. Despite very obvious pressure from supporters, as well as the inevitable increased media scrutiny, he has remained resolute that there is no need for him to be considering his position.

What next for NI after challenging window?

International windows generally tend to produce a number of talking points, but this last one has been one of the most eventful in recent years, largely due to off-field issues.

The manager's future and the team's bid to stave off relegation were expected to dominate the agenda before the emergence of a social media storm. Kyle Lafferty was withdrawn from the squad on Friday after his club Kilmarnock launched an investigation into an alleged sectarian remark by the striker in a video that emerged on social media.

The Irish FA muddied the waters by including a reference to Lafferty having a back injury when explaining his removal, before it then emerged on Monday that the video was believed to have been taken last Tuesday after the players had enjoyed a team night out organised by the manager.

In the midst of that, Glentoran's Conor McMenamin was withdrawn hours before the Kosovo match "in light of a historic social media video", according to the IFA, but he ended up travelling to Athens and being reinstated to the squad after an uncertain 24 hours that must surely have disrupted match preparations.

Baraclough deserves sympathy for having to deal with these issues in the lead-up to crucial games and credit for fronting up to the media in a way which saw him fulfil the role of unofficial Irish FA spokesperson with no other officials from the association providing any explanations.

But where does all this leave the Northern Ireland players, manager and fans? Speaking after Tuesday night's defeat, skipper Steven Davis and Evans suggested the manager has the backing of the dressing room.

Of more significance is the fact that Davis' possible retirement from international football is back on the agenda, with the 37-year-old Rangers midfielder saying he would be reflecting on that with his family and club boss before deciding whether to carry on.

As things stand, Northern Ireland do not have a friendly organised for the international window before the World Cup in November and, if that remains the case, the team's next match will be when Euro 2024 qualification begins next March.

Who they will be playing will be determined at the draw on 9 October, with the potential opponents now likely to be more difficult after their drop into that fifth pot of teams.

Baraclough did actually have a positive take on that when he pointed out post-match that Michael O'Neill's Northern Ireland team were in that same pot ahead of their successful qualification for Euro 2016.

Making that unlikely double next year would be a huge turnaround from where the team are now - but it is what he keeps saying he is building towards. And if that were to happen, there would be no need for player apologies.