George McCartney insists the best is yet to come from Nigel Worthington's Northern Ireland.
The West Ham United full-back will be in action for Worthington's men against Georgia at Windsor Park on Wednesday, when they will be to aiming to win for the first time since narrowly missing out on Euro 2008 qualification.
A disappointing friendly defeat to Bulgaria last month did little to inspire confidence but McCartney insists there are plenty of reasons to be positive.
After returning to the squad last year following a two-year absence due to a row with former boss Lawrie Sanchez, McCartney has been impressed with everything he has seen.
"We went so close in the European Champions qualifiers and I know some people will think we have peaked as a squad but that is nonsense," said McCartney.
"We have a lot of young lads in this squad who will only become better players with the experiences they already have behind them and the future is very bright.
"When you add the experience of the likes of Maik Taylor and Aaron Hughes to that I think we have a good blend.
"We have a very solid base to build on now.
"Losing out on making it to Euro 2008 was hard to take after going so close but you won't find any of us feeling down about it.
"We will be stronger for the experience and we'll build on it.
"As a squad we are very confident at the moment and after going so close we have shown that we have quality.
"You definitely haven't seen the last of Northern Ireland as a force."
Reflecting on return from international exile under Sanchez, McCartney added: "I missed out on two years of games with Northern Ireland but since I've come back I've noticed a change in the mentality and everyone is excited about the future."
McCartney admits the defeat to Bulgaria will do little to convince neutral observers that Northern Ireland can compete for at the next World Cup.
But the former Sunderland man believes they will now put on a show for their fans in midweek.
"We were all very disappointed with the performance and result against Bulgaria but we are confident that will not happen again," he added.
"We have to apply ourselves and have the right attitude in these games if we want to do it when it really matters in September.
"The timing of the game maybe isn't great for everyone but we just have to get on with it.
"Some of the lads are fighting for promotion or against relegation with their clubs and they might prefer to stay at their clubs to prepare for upcoming games that could decide their futures.
"But everyone wants to be involved with Northern Ireland and we just want the game to happen now.
"Georgia will not be coming here just to lie down though. They will be technically very good and I'm sure they will be strong.
"But we will have our own game plan and I'm sure the manager will have a few ideas about trying new things out."
Worthington will be forced to play some fringe players with four senior pulling out over the weekend.
Roy Carroll and Martin Paterson were unable to travel due to injury and illness respectively, while Sammy Clingan and Chris Brunt were asked to report for duty due to club commitments.
Kyle Lafferty hopes to shake off a dead leg sustained in Burnley's defeat to Preston on Saturday to take his place alongside David Healy in attack.
"I got a bit of a knock at the weekend but I always wanted to join up with the rest of the lads," said Lafferty.
"A few lads have had to pull out of the squad but that will give a few others a chance to impress.
"Our last performance wasn't great but I'm sure the fans will be behind us as always on Wednesday and hopefully we'll repay that faith with a win."
