| By Kenneth Ho |
Daniel Bennett has pledged his loyalty to the Singapore national team after a decade of appearance for the Lions.
Bennett, who has lived in Singapore since the age of two and previously turned out for English League Two side Wrexham, revealed that he has often thought about how his career would have turned out had he stayed in England.
“It’s always something that comes to my mind,"Bennett confessed in Football Fever Podcast this week.
"But the draw of coming here and playing for the national team and travelling around Asia playing some of the top teams was too great to turn down.
“I was living in Wrexham in a small house without a car, long way from anywhere. Playing in a fantastic stadium with fantastic support but, just to come back here where I have always lived, [this] is really my home and I will always live here, [and] I wouldn’t change it.”
The SAFFC full-back overtook Malek Awab and Aide Iskandar as Singapore’s most capped player after making his 122nd appearance for the Lions in the away leg of the Suzuki Cup 2012 final.
However, the 35-year-old insisted he is not done with the national team yet, and is still ready to be called-up whenever his services are required.
“Honestly, I enjoyed playing with the national team more than anything so it’s really hard to retire,” Bennet said.
“I am not looking forward to retiring so I will let somebody else make that decision. I like to stick about a bit longer, whether I am in the team or not I don’t know but I always want to make myself available.
“I think the country comes first and if I am needed then I will be there.”