Harry Redknapp says that players asked him to get them out of England duty while he was manager of Tottenham.
The QPR boss – overlooked for the England in favour of Roy Hodgson two years ago – refused to name names but told BBC Radio 5 live’s Sportsweek that there were players who did not want a call-up.
“When full internationals came around, two or three players didn’t want to go and play for England,” Redknapp said.
“They’d come to me 10 days before the game and say: ‘Gaffer, get me out of the game. I don’t want to play in it.'”
Redknapp said he tried to get the players to change their minds and represent their country.
“I said to them: ‘It’s your country. You should want to play.’
“And it’s only going to get worse. They see the stick that the England players get. They’re earning fantastic money at their clubs, they’re all playing in the Champions League and they think: ‘Do we need that aggro?'”
Former England international Matt Le Tissier was upset by Redknapp’s comments.
“It’s horrible to listen to. I was desperate to get more caps. It’s not great to hear that coming from a manager with the experience that Harry’s had. It sticks a knife through your heart.”
England are heading home from the World Cup after 2-1 defeats in both of their opening two games against Italy and Uruguay.
