WALES football manager Rob Page says senior stars Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey and Joe Allen will still be “massive” for the team in the coming Euro 2024 campaign, despite all being in their 30s.

Speaking in depth last week for the first time since the nation’s first World Cup appearance in 64 years ended in disappointment, he told BBC Wales Sport: “When you are talking about the senior players, the likes of Aaron, Gareth and Joe and all the senior players there, they still have a massive part to play for us going forward,” he added.

“How we use them might be slightly different, but they still have a massive part to play for Welsh football.”

Qatar’s hot conditions and the quick turnaround of group games hurt Wales, with some players struggling to recover between matches.

Wales drew their opener 1-1 with the USA, but then lost 2-0 to two late Iran goals after keeper Wayne Hennessey saw red for bringing down a goalbound player outside the box.

And needing to beat old enemy England and hope that results elsewhere went their way, they got to half-time all-square 0-0 only to leak three second half goals without reply.

Page said Wales, who made the semi-finals of the European Championships in 2016, needed to use the “hurt” and “disappointment” to lift them to further major tournaments.

He told BBC Wales: “We didn’t meet expectations… and that’s why it has taken me this long to speak – it hurts me. If I am honest it is a mixture of emotions.

“I am really proud to have got there and want to thank all the supporters who made the effort to go, but I have a bit of disappointment, I can’t lie.

“It has not been an easy couple of weeks. It hurts watching World Cup games. But that speaks volumes about how far we have come as a nation.

“Look how far we’ve come. We have to build on that now. We have to learn from what we’ve done in Qatar and build on it for the future.

“It felt like we were just happy to get there and as a group we will address it and look to move forward. We didn’t reach the levels we know we can, that is the disappointment. I take full responsibility for that.”

Page has been given a vote of “complete confidence” from Football Association of Wales chief Noel Mooney in the wake of the World Cup disappointment.

After replacing Ryan Giggs as interim head coach, he oversaw qualification to League A in the Nations League for the first time, reached the last 16 of the Euro 2020 finals, and made history in June as Wales reached the World Cup finals for the first time since 1958.

With the Euro 2024 campaign due to begin in March, Page said Wales were now entering a “transition” period, and had to use the lessons.

“The level of performance we showed in the Nations League against Netherlands and Belgium, we fell below that,” he told BBC Wales Sport. “If we’d have met those standards I feel we would have given USA, Iran and England more of a game.

“Of course there are lessons learned – could we have gone with fresher legs from the start? It’s easy to say now, in hindsight.

“We need to get the next group of players coming through now. We’ve seen the athleticism from some of the teams at the World Cup and we need that to keep us at the top table.

“We need energy and pace in the team. We are already in the process of doing what we need to make us competitive.

“We know we need some fresh blood and new blood in the dressing room and changes will be made.”