McCulloch has not played for Scotland since George Burley took charge

Lee McCulloch thinks Scotland fans must hate him following the timing of his retirement from international football.

The 30-year-old Rangers midfielder, who won 15 caps, phoned manager George Burley on Monday to say he would no longer play for his country.

The news arrived after the 1-0 defeat to Macedonia, with pressure mounting as Scotland prepared to face Iceland.

"The timing was not too good when the boys were trying to get themselves ready for a game," admitted McCulloch.

McCulloch has missed Rangers' recent SPL matches against Aberdeen and Celtic due to a knee injury and has not featured for Scotland since Burley took charge in January.

It doesn't look too good. It looks as if I am trying to upset people, upset the manager the players, the nation. Lee McCulloch

The former Wigan man maintained that he had contacted the Scottish Football Association national teams' administrator Richard Simpson last week, but his decision to retire was not relayed to Burley.

Instead, the manager of the national side discovered the news in Monday's newspapers.

"I did it before the (Macedonia) game but a lot of people didn't know that I had spoken to the SFA. I was hoping it was going to be quiet in the background between me, the manager and Richard Simpson.

"It doesn't look too good. It looks as if I am trying to upset people, upset the manager the players, the nation.

"I think as we speak just now, the whole nation hate me.

"I just wanted to let everyone know the truth."

In an interview on the Rangers website, McCulloch also revealed he had been contemplating his international future since Scotland's European Championship qualifying defeat to Italy at Hampden in November 2007.

MY SPORT: DEBATE Was McCulloch right to retire from international football?

"I've thought long and hard about stepping away from international football, for a lot of reasons, footballing reasons and family reasons," he added.

"I've thought about it since the Italy game, where it was bitter disappointment all round.

"Another footballing reason was I started picking up niggling injuries, which have hampered me.

"I picked up my current injury in the first game of pre-season and it's getting worse.

"Rangers as a club are getting stronger and stronger and the competition is getting better, so I have to think about my club football, getting my form back and helping Rangers win the league."

SFA president George Peat agreed that the situation had been clumsily handled.

"I think it was just badly timed," he told BBC Sport. "The person to whom he (McCulloch) gave the information thought it would be better to keep it quiet.

"In hindsight, he should have told George at the time but he didn't want to bring it up prior to the (Macedonia) game."

Former Scotland manager Craig Brown asked: "Why didn't Lee McCulloch speak directly to George Burley?

"To say to someone else to tell the manager was very shabby.

"Paul Lambert did it with me. He wanted to finish international football and concentrate on his Celtic career and I respected that decision.

"Jim Leighton did the same, although there was a slightly different issue there. He came and looked me in the eye and told me his intentions."