England career a 'waste of time' says Gary Neville

Neville has questioned the point of playing for England

Gary Neville has warned England have no chance of winning a major trophy for the next decade and admitted he sometimes considered his international career a "waste of time".

The former Manchester United right-back, who retired last season, played in three European Championships and two World Cups for England, his best result the semi-finals at Euro 96.

And he claimed the national team are unlikely to improve on that performance in the near future.

Writing in his autobiography 'Red'. serialised in the Mail on Sunday, he said: "We have our football culture in this country based on the traditional power player and I don't see us competing seriously for a major tournament for at least 10 years.

"I'm afraid we still have a lot of catching up to do."

Neville also claimed the abuse the team received often made it an unenjoyable experience and left many players fearing failure.

"There have been times when I reflected on my international career and just thought: 'Well that was a massive waste of time'," Neville added.

"Sorry for sounding sour, but my best mate, David Beckham, got butchered after the World Cup in 1998, then my brother, Phil, after Euro 2000.

"The whole lot of us got it in the neck at other times. Sometimes we deserved it, but playing for England was one long roller-coaster: some ups and downs, but also quite a few moments when you're not really sure if you're enjoying the ride.

"It should be fantastic, the best moments of your life. But there is no doubt that too many players spend too much time fearing the consequence of failure when they pull on an England shirt."

Neville also admitted success with United meant more to him then doing well for England.

He said: "I regard myself as patriotic but, truth be told, playing for England was a bonus. Winning for my club was always the most important thing and given a straight choice of a European Cup with United or a European Championship with England, it's United every time."