EX-England assistant manager Lawrie McMenemy today insisted that if any player had refused to travel to Turkey they should never have been picked for their country again.

The threat of a strike by England players ahead of Saturday's Euro 2004 qualifier against Turkey was quelled last night.

However, the players - including Saints ace James Beattie and former St Mary's star Wayne Bridge - are reported to have at one point unanimously voted in favour of missing the trip if defender Rio Ferdinand was not reinstated to the squad after he was left out for failing to take a drugs test.

Ex-Saints and Northern Ireland boss McMenemy, who has only just returned from an FA 'peacekeeping' mission in Turkey, had little sympathy for the squad.

McMenemy, right, insisted: "We don't know the full details of the Rio case and how it happened that he forgot a drugs test. But the decision has been made by the FA and the players' job is to play football for England.

"That is still the proudest thing and the biggest achievement you can have as a player and, if for whatever reason they didn't want to play, then we'd have had to go to the next 11.

"There are enough players with enough pride in the shirt that will go and play - if those players had decided not to play then they should never have been picked again."

McMenemy added: "While I have no doubt that the players are upset because a teammate is not there, they still have to go ahead with the game.

"The FA cannot give in to anything that changes their mind that the players want."