After beating Denmark at Windsor Park last Saturday,we really felt that we were going to do it and make it all the way to Austria and Switzerland.

Now we'll just have to watch the Euro 2008 action on television rather than being part of it.

I spoke in the press conference prior to our game with Spain about our confidence that we could win the game.

I was optimistic about our chances, but to be honest the Spanish were far better than us on the night.

And I'm not sure they really got out of first gear!

Without question they were the best team we played in this campaign. They just kept possession and made us run all night.

When they went 1-0 up, I was thinking it was going to take something really special for us to get back in the game.

And even then there was a thought in the back of my mind that if we did score, they would step it up and get another one.

All the boys were really impressed with them and when you think they had about five or six top class players on the bench, I reckon they will give the Euro 2008 finals a real go next year.

Spain are well known for being under-achievers but I think there is a strong mentality about their team at the moment and they will take some stopping.

While we were all gutted and shattered at not qualifying, we can reflect on what has been a great campaign for us.

At Windsor Park, we won five matches out of six which is some going, especially when you consider the quality of sides like Spain, Denmark and Sweden in our group.

That bodes well for the future.

Away from home though we must improve and start picking up more points. We did it in Sweden and Denmark and need to produce more performances like that.

On a personal note, this campaign has been the highlight of my career to date.

To score 13 goals and break Davor Suker's goalscoring record in the competition provides me with great personal pride.

When I started out with Northern Ireland, 13 was our national goalscoring record so to get that many in one campaign was dream-come-true stuff.

People have asked me what my favourite goal was and it would have to be the winner against Denmark. The team's ambition and my ambition was to take it to the last game and that strike against Denmark helped us do that.

Scoring the hat-trick goal against Spain was special too, as were the two goals against Sweden, but I'd go for the goal against the Danes because it was so important.

Having said that I would have swapped my goals for qualifying for the European Championships.

It would have been amazing to be going there taking on sides like Italy, France and Germany with the football world watching.

And it would have been fantastic for our supporters too.

I want to take this opportunity to thank our fans for cheering us on home and away throughout the campaign. They have been magnificent. Hopefully when the World Cup qualifiers come round we can give them more special nights. They have certainly been inspirational to us and I'm sure would have lit up Euro 2008. Again to the Green and White Army thanks for your outstanding support.

England just blew it

England have only themselves to blame for not qualifying for the European Championships.

I genuinely believe that if Northern Ireland needed a point to qualify, playing at home to a Croatia team, who had already reached the finals, we would have got it.

But England quite simply blew it.

Even after fighting back from two down to draw level, they then let Croatia in for a late winner.

That was just unbelievable.

Last weekend I thought that Russia would beat Israel and knock them out, but for Israel to beat the Russians and then for England to lose against Croatia at Wembley only makes their failings worse.

They got the favour they wanted and still couldn't see it home.

Given the players England have to choose from and all the quality at their disposal, they should be qualifying for every major tournament. People might say they were without big stars like Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen and John Terry on Wednesday, but even so they should have been good enough and strong enough to claim the point.

I can't stress enough how big a blow this is to English football.

Of course everyone has been talking about Steve McClaren not delivering, but it goes deeper than that.

Surely now a review of the whole structure of the English game will take place, not just relating to the senior international side but to the under-21s and below that. The club scene also has to be examined. England cannot afford to be out of major tournaments and something must be done to ensure that it doesn't happen again.