Star All Whites striker Chris Wood has doubled down on his disenchantment with the national side's future programme, after they fell short of reaching this year's Football World Cup in Qatar.
New Zealand lost an intercontinental playoff to Costa Rica for the final spot in the 32-team tournament and subsequently lost a two-match, home-and-away series against World Cup-bound Australia without scoring a goal.
Newcastle United goalscorer Wood - the country's highest-profile player - and retiring captain Winston Reid have both urged NZ Football to retain coach Danny Hay, as the All Whites prepare for an expanded world tournament and guaranteed Oceania spot in 2026.
NZ Football has commissioned an independent review of the team's campaign under Hay and won't discuss his future until that is complete, but Wood is also frustrated that no fixtures have been scheduled during the pre-World Cup window later this year.
Weekend Herald reports at least three top-50 teams have approached NZ Football for games in that period.
"We had opportunities, but they all got turned down, which is a shame," Wood has told Weekend Herald. "They were beneficial and probably wouldn't have cost as much as normally.
"If big teams are coming to you, you don't turn them down, because you might never get the chance again."
Woods and other senior players have written to NZ Football with their concerns, but the response left him questioning his own All Whites prospects.
"The response we got, there was a lack of empathy to it," said Wood. "It made us feel like assets, not people, not human beings... not someone they can come and talk to and understand.
"The letter was a full stop on the conversation."
"I thought, if it is going to be the same old, same old, then it will make it extremely hard to carry on. If there was still a playoff match at the end again and things didn't change over the next year, there would have been a decision to be made on my part.
"It would have been a shame and I hope it doesn't come to that, and I don't think it will - but there was a part of me thinking that way."
After missing out on the last three World Cup payouts, NZ Football probably lack the financial ability to extend the All Whites campaign this year, but Wood is adamant the benefits outweigh the cost.
He also laments the lack of football experience on the organisation's board, pointing to former All Whites Ryan Nelsen and Tim Brown with relevant business expertise.
"We should be going to them, asking for ideas, what is going to improve the All Whites, what is going to improve the Football Ferns? We don't utilise that enough.
"As players, we would love a closer relationship with NZ Football and the board, but we have never been pulling in the same direction."
