Karen Bardsley says England must use their World Cup bronze medal as a springboard for more success next summer.
Mark Sampson’s side defeated Germany for the first time to finish third at Canada 2015.
The Lionesses have since qualified unbeaten for the next major tournament, Euro 2017, which is being staged in Netherlands.
Bardsley, who has earned 65 caps during her 11-year association with England, kept four clean sheets in the five Euro qualifiers she started.
“It’s important to remember your successes,” she told the PFA’s ‘4 The Player’ magazine.
“You have to celebrate them and know when to stop because you don’t want to live in the past.
“And as great as it felt to win a bronze medal, ultimately we could have had more or less.
“We could have been in a final and come out with a gold or a silver [medal], which I fully believe we were capable of achieving.
“It’s nice to have the World Cup experience as an opportunity to look back and say ‘how could we have done better there?’.”
England have been drawn in Group D at Euro 2017 and they open their campaign against Scotland in Utrecht on 19 July.
They then face Spain in Breda on 23 July before finishing up against Portugal in Tilburg on 27 July.
Bardsley added: “Now the draw has happened it has made it real.
“We’ve played Scotland loads in the past and the games have always been very physical and emotional – but the thing is how can you rein in the emotion and be logical in that situation?
“I’m really looking forward to testing that theory out.”
Next up for England is a double-header in La Manga in the new year.
They face Norway on 22 January and Sweden two days later.
