Emile Heskey has shared his thoughts on why Australia is not ready to become a big player in global football.

Premier League legend Heskey, 46, played for the Newcastle Jets over two seasons, before returning to England to finish his career with Bolton Wanderers in 2016.

Heskey, who is best remembered for his stints at Leicester City and Liverpool, scored 10 goals in 42 games for the Jets at a time where exciting names were heading Down Under, including Alessandro Del Piero and David Villa.

But, 10 years later, Australian domestic football remains some way away in standard compared to the European leagues, and Heskey believes it all comes down to attitude.

‘It is just very, very relaxed,’ he said on an Ask Me Anything Q&A on Reddit.

‘The biggest adjustment was that in England, every game means something. So your goal is to either win trophies or stay in the league, or get promoted.

‘Whereas in Australia there’s none of that. You still try to win a trophy as in win the league. But if you’re far off that, you’re just playing games.

‘I found that players with their lifestyle governed how they were going to play.

‘So they were just happy-go-lucky, because that’s the happy-go-lucky lifestyle over there.

‘They had everything on their doorstep, they have the sea, they have surfing, they have swimming, everything.’

Heskey added that this lifestyle often leads to a shock to the system when players from Australia are plucked by clubs in Europe.

‘So it was very, very relaxed for them and that’s why sometimes it can be a bit of a rude awakening when you’re coming to Europe and it’s like go go go.

‘You’ve got to focus. It’s a rude awakening for them.’