There is a need for realism when assessing Northern Ireland's performance at the European Championships.
In the team's opening match of the tournament, they lost to Norway by a score of 4-1, but Shiels was proud of how his team responded.
In NI's first ever match at a major tournament, Julie Nelson scored a historic goal.
The former boss said it was difficult to take the score.
It will take 10 years to get us into the top 20 in Europe, even though we are three years into the program.
We can do it quicker if we keep progressing. In Northern Ireland, this is an emerging game.
We have created a monster because we have grown too fast. It's difficult.
Two early goals from Julie Blakstad and Frida Maanum put the Norwegians in charge, with the VAR ruling that Nadene Caldwell had handled in the box before the break.
Nelson scored Northern Ireland's first ever goal in a major finals when he headed home in the second half.
It was a comfortable Group A victory for Norway after Guro Reiten scored a low free-kick five minutes after the restart.
While worried about the extent of Simone Magill's injury, Shiels was happy to praise his players for how they came back.
He said that you are not happy when you are beaten 4-1.
You can see how good they are when you watch them for the first 25 minutes.
The two best strikers in the world were on the field at the same time.
He said that they matched them for the final hour. We got one v one and did a lot of good things.
We pinned them back after we got in behind. The girls were superb. Fans will be very proud of them for giving everything for their country.
You can see what we got from it. As the match grew, we began to believe. The experience is great for them
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