England U16s Head Coach Kenny Swain was in reflective mood after being narrowly beaten by Northern Ireland.
A late goal from Shea Conaty condemned the Young Lions to a 1-0 loss, but despite the setback Swain believes the experience gained can only benefit the youngsters.
Swain admitted: "They've been a bit naive.
"They are a very young side so I didn't expect us to flow like against Wales and our performance wasn't good enough to overcome the opposition.
"I thought overall the Irish deserved the victory. But it's all part of the ride and I'll be here with the players for the next part of it."
England were favourites pre-tournament to retain the Shield, but despite having talent at his own disposal, Swain feels that the quality of our rivals is also improving.
He said: "In recent years the Welsh have done very well, Scotland have picked up and maybe this is the start for Northern Ireland.
"We think our pool is growing, but I'm sure ourselves and other countries believe we may be a little bit short of talent.
"I think high talent is always in short supply, whether it's in Brazil, or on these shores."
The squads selected by Swain for the two Victory Shield games so far have been completely different and he believes that their will be a player or two who progress from this year group.
He added: "It's not just a case of giving players a chance, they have to earn it, and over the last couple of years we have a pool of players that has grown and we have that many fighting for a place at international level that we probably need a bigger programme to give them that opportunity.
"Thankfully we have a big trip coming up in December to the USA after the Scotland game and an U16 tournament next year so the opportunities will be there for their development.
"Without a doubt they will be one or two players who emerge from this group and I'm pretty confident that over the last five years the players we've worked with will continue coming through."
