International friendly: Montenegro v Wales
Venue: Gradski Stadium, Podgorica Date: Wed, 12 August Kick-off: 1930 BST
Coverage: Exclusively live on BBC TWO Wales and online & full commentary on BBC Radio Wales and Radio Cymru

Fulham midfielder Simon Davies has been capped 57 times by Wales

Wales midfielder Simon Davies has revealed he thought about retiring from international football after their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign.

But the Fulham star has decided against quitting Wales after regaining his appetite during his recent spell out recovering from foot surgery.

"I did initially think after this campaign I'd have a look and see about retiring from Wales," said Davies, 29.

"It gets harder and harder because the Premier League is so demanding."

Davies, who won the first of his 57 Wales caps against Ukraine in 2001, has been sidelined since April after cracking a bone in a foot, an injury that required an operation.

In an exclusive interview with BBC's Sport Wales TV programme, which returns on Friday at 2100 BST on BBC TWO Wales, Davies said: "It is sometimes difficult to go away with Wales when you see the other lads having a few days off recharging their batteries.

"But having this injury and being out for three months has given me back a lot of appetite to try and improve."

Davies, who captained Wales in their 2-0 defeat by Germany in April, has lost his last three Wales qualifiers as John Toshack's team failed in their qualification bid for the 2010 World Cup.

"I wouldn't want to finish playing for Wales now, the way it finished with this campaign," conceded Davies.

"I know we've got a few games to go in this campaign so hopefully that goes well.

"I'd like to think, if selected, that I can still do a job and play well for Wales."

He continued: "Sometimes when you're in it, you can get bogged down in your frustrations and it is only because you want to do well.

"If you didn't care, it would be easy. But now after this injury and the break, it has definitely given me hunger and appetite to get back and do as best I can."

Wales have suffered a host of high-profile retirements of experienced players since previous boss Mark Hughes quit.

Gary Speed, Robbie Savage, Mark Delaney, John Hartson, Mark Pembridge, Andy Melville and Ryan Giggs have all called time on their international careers since Hughes left to take over at Blackburn in 2004.

It's hard when the manager criticises you and I haven't agreed with everything he has said about me in the past but you just take it on board. I'm a player, he is the manager and you just tow the line. Wales midfielder Simon Davies

Current manager Toshack is now trying to rebuild the national team with Welsh football's promising youngsters.

Davies, though, was one of the senior Welsh players criticised following Wales' disappointing World Cup qualifying defeat to an average Finland side in Cardiff in March, a loss that made World Cup qualification from Group Four virtually impossible.

There was much speculation that Davies would be dropped for their match against Germany four days after the defeat by Finland but he was made captain when striker Craig Bellamy and Jason Koumas were ruled out with injuries.

"I was expecting to get dropped against Germany," revealed Davies. "As I didn't think I played well against Finland.

"The Finland game was important in terms of the group and for one reason or another we didn't perform.

"We expected criticism after that and the manager could have dropped all of us as no-one is bigger than the national team and no-one has a divine right to play.

"If I would have been dropped I would have held my hands up and worked harder to get back in the team. But we'll never know what the team might have been if everyone would have been fit.

"People focus on the senior players to drag the team through as the more experience you have, the more responsibility you have.

"So when you are an experienced player, you expect to get the brunt of the criticism as the younger players are protected - and rightly so.

"Sometimes, though, it gets into a blame game and that's not the way to go about it as we're a team, including the manager. We're all as one.

"It's hard when the manager criticises you and I haven't agreed with everything he has said about me in the past but you just take it on board. I'm a player, he is the manager and you just tow the line."

606: DEBATE How important is Simon Davies to the Welsh national team?

Referring to the criticism after the embarrassment against Finland, Davies said: "We were accused of not putting in effort.

"One of the papers carried a picture of someone grabbing the Welsh badge and that was a massive dig at us and no-one in the squad was happy with that.

"You can accuse us all day about our technical ability and tactical game because that's part and parcel of football.

"But when you get criticised for not having enough passion when playing for your country, that's just pathetic. It is not down to a lack of effort.

"Every one of us puts everything into every game but sometimes things just don't work out. You do get disappointed with criticism but that is professional football, you have to take it on the chin.

"I honestly had high hopes about this campaign but it has just drifted away - and that's the biggest disappointment. We just hope to finish the campaign strongly and build again."

Wales, though, have only qualified for the latter stages of major tournaments twice in their history.

John Charles led a Welsh team to the 1958 World Cup finals in Sweden before Wales reached the quarter-finals of the 1976 European Championships.

* Watch Simon Davies' full interview with former Wales international striker and uncle Ian Walsh on Sport Wales this Friday at 2100 BST on BBC TWO Wales.

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