The 6-2 demolition of Georgia in their final World Cup qualifying match on Wednesday was not an indication Bulgaria had turned the corner in terms of their recent performances, captain Dimitar Berbatov has said.

Bulgaria finished behind Italy and Ireland in European qualifying's Group Eight, failing for the third successive time to reach the finals of a major tournament.

"The result shouldn't mislead us," said Berbatov, who scored a hat-trick against Georgia. "We still have problems, you just can't solve everything by scoring six goals in one game.

"The reality is that we don't have quality players for every position...(and) you can't expect three horses to pull the carriage," he added, referring to the presence of himself and fellow English Premier League players Martin Petrov (Manchester City) and Stilian Petrov (Aston Villa).

"I've always been an optimist but I don't see much light at the end of the tunnel in this moment.

"There's a lot of work to be done. A few days ago, I went to see a (Bulgarian league leaders) CSKA Sofia match and I nearly fell asleep."