Senior statesmen David Healy and Maik Taylor are united in their belief that the future is rosy for Northern Ireland.

The province finished a creditable fourth in Group Three after finishing their World Cup qualifying campaign with a goalless draw against the Czech Republic in Prague.

Under manager Nigel Worthington they have taken small steps forward, a fact recognised by Healy and Taylor.

Healy, 30, said: "We have got to take the positives from the game and the campaign.

"The performances of the young players were terrific. Nigel asked them to grow up and become men on the pitch and that is exactly what they did.

"Of course I am disappointed we didn't give ourselves that chance of qualifying in the final game but we will be back. There is a mixed group now and I know we will keep improving."

At 38 Taylor has pledged to carry on his international career and help the young players develop.

He said: "You are always going to have a few slip-ups in 10 games but the important thing is to learn from those mistakes.

"We are improving all the time though. We are getting greater strength in depth. The future is fantastic for Northern Ireland, I have no doubt about that.

"I am excited about it and this is the reason why I told Nigel I wanted to continue my international career."

Even though he is struggling to kick-start his Sunderland career, Healy insists he will rediscover his scoring form for the province.

He managed only one goal in the campaign - against San Marino - after a record 13 in the Euro 2008 qualifiers.

Healy said: "Of course I would like to score every time I play but it hasn't happened. I'm a bit older now and more mature so I know how to deal with it.

"I know I can score goals for Northern Ireland. Nothing makes me more proud. I've proved a lot of people wrong in the past and I will do it again.

"I still have ambitions of playing at a major tournament with Northern Ireland and I think we can do it."

A shining light for Northern Ireland on Wednesday night was Celtic midfielder Niall McGinn, who was making his first start.

He enjoyed the experience and said: "I managed to get a few early touches to boost my confidence and I thought I did reasonably well.

"We have a strong squad and can learn from this campaign and take confidence into the next one.

"I was thankful that I was given the full 90 minutes to show what I could do and hopefully I will stay in Nigel Worthington's thoughts.

"We put in a good performance and to cap it all with a goal would have been special."

Taylor is in the same boat as Healy, having lost his place at Birmingham to Joe Hart.

However the veteran keeper is determined to reclaim the jersey sooner rather than later.

He said: "I have a difficult challenge at Birmingham because Joe Hart has come in and done very well.

"But I am up for it. I've never shirked a challenge before and I'm not about to start now. I've come out on top 90% of the time and hopefully I'll do it again.

"It's still early in the season and I will keep fighting for my place."