Shilton tells Seaman its time to quit

Agence France-Presse, London

England goalkeeping legend Peter Shilton has told David Seaman its time to hang up his international gloves.

Seaman, 39, has been pilloried mercilessly by the British press after conceding a goal directly from a corner in England's embarrassing 2-2 draw with Macedonia in a Euro 2004 qualifier.

"The best keepers make the fewest mistakes and David is making too many," said Shilton, who won a record 125 caps between the posts for England.

"I have always been a fan of David's. He is a superb professional who has given great service.

"It would be a terrible shame if he hung on until he was hounded out."

Shilton played his last match for England when he was 41 but that did not stop him calling time on Seaman, who turned 39 last month.

Seaman's mistake against Macedonia came in England's first competitive match since they lost the World Cup quarter-final to Brazil - due in part to the goalkeeper's misjudgment of a Ronaldinho free-kick.

But for that error, Seaman may have decided to retire from international football after the tournament but he opted to continue in an apparent and misjudged attempt to redeem himself.

"I think David would have quit after the World Cup in June if he hadn't made that mistake against Brazil," Shilton told The Sun.

"But we all like to go out on a high so what happened made him determined to go on and try to make up for it.

"I felt there were signs in the 18 months leading up to the World Cup that David was losing his edge. But I still felt it was right that he started the finals because of his experience.

"I chose my time when to finish and told then England manager Bobby Robson before the 1990 World Cup finals."

West Ham's David James has been installed as the bookies' favorite to replace Seaman for England.

But head coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, who has said he will look at his options in the coming months, may instead turn to 23-year- old Leeds keeper Paul Robinson as a better long-term option.

England do not play another match until February, when they are due to take on Denmark or Australia in a friendly.