Ben Thatcher has launched a fierce attack on John Toshack and claims the Wales manager accused him of being too "scared" to play for his country in their last World Cup match in Poland.

The Manchester City defender has made himself unavailable for the Group Six games with Northern Ireland in Belfast on Saturday and in Cardiff against Azerbaijan next Wednesday.

The 29-year-old has not retired from international football but his future is uncertain, given the treatment of outspoken Blackburn midfielder Robbie Savage, who has not played under Toshack since criticising the new regime.

Thatcher claims a "gentleman's agreement" not to air their differences in public has been broken by Toshack's decision to explain the problems between them last week. The breakdown in the relationship between the pair, claims Thatcher, is a mobile phone row in which Toshack claimed Thatcher was scared to play in Poland because of what had happened involving Thatcher when the countries met in Cardiff last year.

Thatcher said in the South Wales Echo: "The manager has questioned my commitment and credibility in public and I feel I have no choice but to defend myself and tell the truth. The manager said I was scared of reprisals following the clash in Cardiff last October when I was banned for the incident with Polish midfielder Kamil Kosowski."

Thatcher was alleged to have stamped on the player, and was banned for two matches, with the Poland return in Warsaw his first game back. He said: "Nothing could be further from the truth than to say I was scared.

"The manager asked me why I was not coming down to south Wales and I said to him that the Manchester City doctors had informed the FAW that I needed to rest the ankle." He added: "He then told me he was disappointed and launched into a verbal attack, accusing me of worrying about the reaction of the Polish players and their crowd following the previous incident with Kosowski and of being scared."

Toshack, last week, admitted there had been a frank exchange of views on the phone.

Lee McCulloch's participation in Scotland's World Cup qualifier against Belarus at Hampden Park on Saturday hangs in the balance. Wigan's midfielder has taken injections in the last few weeks to allow him to play despite a knee injury which kept him out of matches against Italy and Norway last month. The 27-year-old will play through the pain barrier if necessary.