Hearts pair Liam Boyce and Michael Smith have been blasted by Keith Gillespie for pulling out of the Northern Ireland reckoning.
Boyce and Smith asked not to be picked by their country last year as Ian Baraclough constructed his squad.
Ex-Manchester United and Newcastle winger - who has 86 caps - has slammed the Jambos' stars for their decision.
Gillespie believes Northern Ireland need "very good players" like Boyce and Smith and insists he, nor the likes of former Jam Tarts defender Aaron Hughes, would never make themselves unavailable for their country.
"We don't have a lot of players to pick from so we want all our best players available," he said.
"They are very good players who are important to Northern Ireland. It's disappointing because international football meant everything to me.
"Pulling on the green shirt once was incredible and you look at players like Aaron Hughes, who played for as long as he could and won over 100 caps.
"I didn't win as many as that, but I also wanted to play for as long as I could and never actually retired from playing for Northern Ireland. I always said I'd let it retire me.
"It's disappointing, they are two important players for us."
