Queens Park Rangers manager Harry Redknapp has refused to name the Tottenham players he claimed rejected England call-ups during his time in charge at White Hart Lane.
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Redknapp annoyed Three Lions boss Roy Hodgson and captain Steven Gerrard by insisting that some of his Spurs charges had asked the club to withdraw them from international duty.
Gerrard suggested he did not believe the former West Ham manager and challenged him to identify the players.
However, Redknapp told the Daily Mail: "I understand Steven's concern but I don't want to get into naming names because it wouldn't be fair to the players. Every Premier League manager past and present knows what I'm talking about.
"Probably even Roy Hodgson. But sadly this attitude is not unusual these days. You've only got to look at how many players pull out of an international game on Tuesday and Wednesday then are running about for their clubs the next Saturday to see that this is a very real issue."
Twelve Tottenham players were called up to England squads during Redknapp's four-year reign at White Hart Lane, which ended in 2012 -- Darren Bent, David Bentley, Peter Crouch, Michael Dawson, Jermain Defoe, Tom Huddlestone, Jermaine Jenas, Ledley King, Aaron Lennon, Scott Parker, Kyle Walker and Jonathan Woodgate.
Gerrard told a news conference on Sunday: "I tell you what, I'd be interested to find out who those players are. If Harry is making a comment like that, he should name them and embarrass them. Hand on heart, no one in this group wants to go home.
"No one has said to me they don't like playing for England or that they don't want to be here. If [what Redknapp says is] the case, it's disgusting. For me, if a player doesn't want to be here, he doesn't deserve to be at a World Cup.
"But should Harry not name them? 'They' didn't want to play for England. Who? Name them. We need names. Is it Aaron Lennon, Kyle Walker, Andros Townsend? I don't know who he means. Does he mean five years ago? Or 10 years ago? I've spoken to Jermain Defoe and he is devastated [not to be in the England World Cup squad]."
Redknapp was widely expected to get the England job in 2012 before Hodgson was appointed.
But he told BBC Radio 5 on Sunday: "I can tell you when I was at Tottenham, when full internationals came around, there were two or three players who did not want to play for England. They would come to me 10 days before the game and say: 'Gaffer, get me out of that game, I don't want to play in that game.'"