On Saturday morning Irvine and the national team were battered 4-1 by Norway at the Ullevaal Stadion.

Irvine put Australia ahead in the first half with a header, but the green and gold then conceded four goals to register a heavy defeat.

In Bert van Marwijk's first match in charge, the Hull City midfielder said the Socceroos revealed exactly where they sit.

"We looked like what we are, a team in transition," Irvine admitted. "The good news is it can only get better.

"But we got too many of the basics wrong. Bert said to us don't let it affect you.There will always be speed bumps and bad periods.

"But we've got another game this week and another month to work together going into the tournament so there is plenty of time to get things right."

Norway are ranked 57th in the world and last qualified for a major tournament in 2000 for the European Championships. Despite this they dominated against Australia, creating more chances and scoring opportunities.

Irvine said he wasn't surprised how dangerous the Norwegians were.

"There are no poor international teams," he said. "Their players play in top leagues around the world, are well organised and very good at what they do.

"Physical up front, a danger at set-pieces and when the ball dropped they were good enough to play around with it. They were a good side.

"We flattered them a little bit in the way we played, but they did their job."