Manchester City midfielder Stephen Ireland admits he's received hate mail over his decision to retire from the Republic of Ireland setup.

But he will never go back on his decision to quit playing for the Republic of Ireland.

Ireland, 23, said: "I've had hate mail but it was bound to come. It doesn't faze me.

"People say to my friends 'why's Stephen not playing for his country, if I see him I'll do this or that.' But then if I see them, they just bottle it."

Ireland revealed he never enjoyed playing for his country, even as a kid, and grew up believing lads from Cork were discriminated against.

He said: "I never enjoyed it from the age of 14 or 15 when I was travelling on the train from Cork to Dublin.

"You didn't get looked after. It was amateurish.

"Even now the set-up is the same. They pick the Dublin lads, one or two Cork lads, and the Cork boys are thrown on the back seat. It's not fair."