Former Northern Ireland striker David Healy has blamed "the structural failings" of the Irish Football Association for contributing to the side's struggles on the pitch.
Michael O'Neill's side slumped to a fifth straight defeat on Sunday as they were beaten 1-0 by Kazakhstan in Astana, having already seen any remaining hope of qualifying for next summer's finals in Germany effectively killed off by Thursday's 4-2 loss in Slovenia.
O'Neill, who returned to the job in December after the dismissal of Ian Baraclough, has faced injuries to a string of senior players, severely testing the depths of Northern Ireland's resources.
But Healy, the country's record men's goalscorer, believes the problems run deeper, claiming the Irish FA had not delivered on promises to invest in infrastructure after O'Neill guided them to the Euro 2016 finals during his first spell in charge.
"Michael (O'Neill) is the correct man for the job but we have to look at the structural failings of the Irish FA," Healy said on Viaplay's coverage of Sunday's defeat.
"They have not put a proper training ground in place as was promised to players and supporters. They have not invested in the youth system and the players. They say they will but the JD Academy is being funded by UEFA.
"The planning and structure from underage to senior levels is what? I feel for Ian Baraclough who was basically a sitting duck. We don't want to be sitting here in four years' time when we haven't given Michael the tools to get to a major tournament.
"I see enough people working and jobs for people in the Irish FA but what do they contribute? Northern Ireland supporters want a team to be proud of but we are not seeing that."
Healy also pointed out emerging stars Isaac Price, Shea Charles and Dan Ballard had all been nurtured by clubs in England rather than the Irish FA JD Academy.
"Michael will get to the bottom of this," he added. "People need to get their backsides in gear and stop patting one another on the back.
"But Michael is dealing with the same shortcomings as Ian (Baraclough) faced. People need to sit down and agree a plan going forward or we will have the same issues in the future...
"Michael has inherited the same problems as 10 years ago, scrambling around for training facilities. You are on a hiding to nothing."
Kazakhstan's win kept them in the thick of the qualification battle in Group H. Although they sit 40 places below Northern Ireland in the FIFA rankings, they have 12 points from six qualifiers compared to Northern Ireland's three.
"Kazakhstan and a lot of the so-called lesser nations with smaller populations have improved and I'm sure it's a frustration for Michael coming back into the job and seeing not much progress," added Healy.
"A lot of that is down to the Irish FA. We had a financial windfall in terms of what we received for qualifying for the Euros in France and I don't think we invested it pretty well.
"You can talk about people holding their heads in shame but people need to be held accountable."
The Irish FA has been contacted for comment.
