Former Socceroo Archie Thompson has opened up about the Ange Postecoglou 'resentment' he held on to for years.
The duo crossed paths at Australian club Melbourne Victory in 2012 when Postecoglou was appointed coach.
Thompson was the club's star striker at the time and was playing regularly for Australia's national team.
Postecoglou used Socceroos duties as a way to motivate Thompson at Victory but later opted against calling up the attacker when he became national team coach in late 2013.
While Thompson was full of praise for the Australian's achievements at Celtic this season, he did reveal the snub left him with some resentment for Postecoglou.
"I will let on a little secret. I was a little bit dirty on Ange because when he did come to Victory he did say, 'Arch, I want you to be part of the Socceroos squad' and then as soon as he got the job I was nowhere to be seen," Thompson said on the Football From A to Z Podcast.
"But then I held on to that bit of I guess resentment for a long time.
"And there was a moment after the Socceroos game just recently and I can see my mistakes where I said, 'Ange Postecoglou was giving out Socceroos caps as Tic Tacs'.
"But then the thing was he was actually trying to find players...my thought at the time was that it was diluting what it meant to be part of the Socceroos.
"But then it was giving opportunities to people who could play in that style and he goes on and wins a Asian Cup. And that was my bit of resentment. I wanted to be part of it.
"He's an absolute superstar and I'm amazed at what he's done."
Thompson wasn't the only Australian player that found themselves out of the Socceroos side when Postecoglou took charge.
Veteran defenders Luke Wilkshire and Sasa Ognenovski were both notably left out of his first national team squad as he looked to give younger players a chance.
Thompson's last Socceroos appearance came in 2013 with the now 43-year-old still holding the record for most goals in an international match after netting 13 against American Samoa in 2001.
