Town defender Tommy Smith’s New Zealand career could be over but Blues youngster Monty Patterson has received his first senior All Whites call-up for the Oceania Nations Cup, which takes place in Papua New Guinea later this month.
Smith made himself unavailable for the competition, having previously asked to be left out of the squad for November’s friendly in Oman as he was proposing to his girlfriend at a time when his family were over from New Zealand and opting not to play international football during the 2014/15 season to concentrate on his domestic football with Town.
Prior to that the 26-year-old was angered when New Zealand Football strictly enforced FIFA rules ahead of their 2014 World Cup play-off against Mexico which meant he was unable to play in a Town game at Blackpool.
Head coach Anthony Hudson says he won't be naming Smith in any of his future squads.
"Tommy has not been able to commit to us again, and as a result I will not be selecting him for the All Whites going forward. It is too disruptive to our preparation,” he said.
"It's nothing personal against Tommy - he's a top player and a really good character. I respect his situation but there was a situation before that, and before that. I have to do what's right for the team."
Hudson said communication between the pair had been limited to "at best, a couple of text messages here and there”.
He added: ”Tommy’s [club] career is a priority and that's fine. But I'm the coach of New Zealand and I have to do what's best for the national team.
"This decision's been very difficult but we have to overachieve to be successful and to do that we need a consistent group of players who want to fight for the national team.”
Smith, who was born in England but qualifies for New Zealand as he lived there between the ages of eight and 16, won 29 caps, scoring two goals. He appeared at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and has captained the side on a number of occasions. He was also in the U23 team which took part in the 2012 Olympics.
Meanwhile, Blues midfielder or striker Patterson, 19, has received his first senior call having previously featured for the New Zealand U17s, U20s and U23s.
Patterson returned to action for Town’s final few U21s games after spending seven months out injured with an ankle injury.
Former Blues loanee Chris Wood, now with Leeds, captains the squad in the absence of regular skipper, West Ham’s Winston Reid, while another ex-Town loan striker Rory Fallon, these days with Bristol Rovers, is also included.
The All Whites take on Fiji in their opening game on Saturday 28th May, then face Vanuatu three days later before completing their group matches against the Solomon Islands on Sunday 4th June with all their games in Port Moresby.
All Whites: Max Crocombe (Oxford Utd), Stefan Marinovic (SpVgg Unterhaching), Tamati Williams (RKC Waalwijk), Luke Adams (South Melbourne), Michael Boxall (SuperSport Utd), Sam Brotherton (Wisconsin University), Kip Colvey (San Jose Earthquakes), Thomas Doyle (Wellington Phoenix), Louis Fenton (Wellington Phoenix), Te Atawhai Wihongi (Onehunga Sports), Moses Dyer (Onehunga Sports), Clayton Lewis (Onehunga Sport), Michael McGlinchey (Wellington Phoenix), Matt Ridenton (Wellington Phoenix), Bill Tuiloma (RC Strasbourg Alsace), Themi Tzimopoulos (PAS Giannina), Kosta Barbarouses (Melbourne Victory), Rory Fallon (Bristol Rovers), Monty Patterson (Ipswich Town), Logan Rogerson (Wellington Phoenix), Marco Rojas (FC Thun), Shane Smeltz (Sydney FC), Chris Wood (Leeds Utd).