Bosnich tells Neill to deliver

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THE angry war of words surrounding Lucas Neill's captaincy of the Socceroos continued last night, after Neill hit back at Bosnich's call for him to retire from the national team.

Told by Neill that he expected better "from someone who has played the game", Bosnich said that Neill should "stop telling us and show us" — while former Socceroo Robbie Slater dubbed it the "worst captain's interview I've ever seen".

As the row threatened to overshadow this morning's friendly betweent the Socceroos and Canada, the first game since Holger Osieck's sacking, Football Federation chairman Frank Lowy sought to calm the issue by suggesting the words came "in turbulent times".

Earlier Neill, at the pre-match press conference, was asked what he thought of calls for generational change — a reference to Bosnich calling on Neill to retire after Saturday's 6-0 defeat to France.

Neill, 35, emphatically denied he was set to give up his spot in the side, saying: "Retirement is not a word that has been on my agenda.

"Mark Bosnich is entitled to his opinion, but I would expect better from people who have played the game and certainly from those who call themselves my friend.

"People who know football know games are won and lost by a team and it's not about one person.

"I am committed to remaining captain for as long as the people in charge give me that status.

"I add value to the team and I bring a lot of good attributes, but I am the victim, the same as everybody in this team, of a side which has lost two games in a row 6-0."

In a further twist, Neill appeared to question the motivation of some teammates, when he said that there was no point making mass changes if there were few replacements ready to go.

"I think the biggest problem in Australia right now is not the older guys who have been doing it for a long time — I still have as much passion now as I had when I was 17 — but my question to the younger guys who want to play for Australia, is: Do you really dream of playing for Australia?" he said.

"And if you do, then show me the hunger, show me the desire that you want to be in the Socceroos and you want to represent your country. That's where we are lacking now, our attitude towards the national team."

Later Bosnich offered a succinct response. "Lucas is entitled to his opinion as anyone is, and it's good he's had it," Bosnich said. "Now stop telling us all, and show us."

Made aware of the exchanges yesterday afternoon, Lowy said the remarks had to be put in the context of a heavy defeat and its subsequent fallout.

"He led the Socceroos with distinction for all the time he has been in there, and I think these are heated times at the moment," Lowy said of Neill. "I don't think we should hang on to every word said in the heat of the moment.

"I have a great respect for him, and if he makes himself available and the coach picks him, fine. If he doesn't make himself available, or the coach doesn't pick him, that's the coach's decision."

Asked if the comments were strange for a captain to make, Lowy added: "You could say that, but we need to be mindful of these turbulent times and what is said in the heat of it all, which we can maybe take as not very serious."

But Slater had already labelled Neill's declaration as a sign that "he's not seeing things clear and he's not seeing the reality."

"(It was) disgraceful," Slater told Fox Sports. "Quite possibly, the worst captain's interview — in a football sense — I've ever seen."

"When you have a coach in survival mode (like Holger Osieck was), it can reflect on the squad and players. Lucas is in the survival mode.

"He has a siege mentality ... and he's living in a cocoon. He's not seeing things clear and he's not seeing the reality.

"That squad is torn apart … If it wasn't before because of the results, it will be now because of what the captain has said.

"The amount of times I hear 'I' ... for him to have a go at younger players, that's exactly the opposite of what the captain should be doing."

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Socceroos skipper Lucas Neill remains defiant in the face of immense pressure.

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