Verbeek told a Qatari sports site he left the Socceroos post due to the travel demands and the lack of quality coming through the youth ranks, a trend he described as seriously worrying.

The forthright 56-year-old said the national team would suffer from fewer Australians based in Europe, more youngsters choosing to play in the A-League and the exodus of players to the Gulf states.

The Dutchman led the Socceroos from 2007 to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa where they were bundled out in the first round, including a humiliating 4-0 loss to Germany in the opening game.

Now the National Youth Technical Director for Morocco he said he had “serious discussions” about staying in Australia but didn’t want to commit to the next World Cup.

“There were two main things,” he told Doha Stadium Plus. “For me to stay another four years in Australia was a bit too much. I was there for two-and-half years.

“Working with the Australian national team is a really tough job because you’ve to fly all over the world. Your players are in Europe, Asia and Australia. So I seriously got problems with jet lag. Physically, it was a tough job.

“Second, if you see the performance of their youth teams at the moment, it isn’t that encouraging. In the third round of the ’12 Olympic Games qualification, they played six games, but couldn’t score a single goal. If that’s the future of Australian football, then you would be seriously worried about that situation.

“That’s the kind of difference between the generations. The current crop of youngsters prefers to stay at home and play in the A-League, unlike in the past when the boys used to get to Europe in their teens and develop there.

“Several others are playing in the Middle East and different Asian Leagues. Cahill is based in the US. It’s a lot different when a coach has the chance to select the starting eleven from those who’re based in England or the other top Leagues in the world.

Verbeek said one of the biggest hurdles facing the national team was finding youngsters to fill the boots of likes of Harry Kewell and Cahill. And he was less than impressed with players moving to the gulf leagues.

“For Qatar and the Qatar Stars League, it’s fantastic to have these players (Mark Bresciano, Sasa Ognenovski and Matthew Spiranovic), because they’re quite good,” he said. “No doubt about that.

“Bresciano is one of the best players I’ve ever worked with. But with all respect to the QSL, if you compare it with the English Premiership or German Bundesliga, you’ve to admit there’s a difference in the level. Here, they’re developing, bringing in young players. As I said, it’s good for Qatari players, but not for the Australian national team.”

On the subject of the domestic game Verbeek said Australians were “proud of the A-League”.

“There’s nothing wrong with the league as such,” he said. “The organisation is fantastic, the players and stadiums are good.

“But when you look at its level of football and compare it with Europe and you want to go to the World Cup and do well in it, then of course, they’re behind South Korea, Japan and others.

“The A League is okay and players like Alessandro Del Piero want to come there. But if you look at the quality and development of youngsters, that’s tough.

"I’m afraid, it’ll take at least a generation to change.”