There has long been a perception that young British players get too much money too early in their careers.

It is an issue Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers touched on this week. He said English football had a "massive problem" due to the high salaries afforded to young academy players who have had their hunger to succeed muted.

Former Ireland winger Stephen Hunt has witnessed the change in treatment towards young players since he started out and agrees with Rodgers.

He told Off The Ball: "I would agree with Brendan Rodgers they get too much too soon. But also I wouldn't say it's because of the clubs. The agents have got a lot to do with it in terms of how they go about their business these days and how much they want for their players."

Hunt also explained that the line between attitude and revealing that he once had an altercation with former journeyman striker Marcus Bent, when the Waterford man was still in the boot cleaning phase.

"He threw his boots at me one day and he said 'clean them'. I threw them back at him because he was rude to me," said Hunt, confirming that Bent did not take the boot-throwing lightly and pinned him up against the dressing room - although Hunt did reveal that he got revenge in a match years later. 

"I like a young player who has attitude. But there's a line between confidence and arrogance. Too many of them today probably have no fear and a bit of arrogance to go with it - and more than likely no ability at the same time!"  

He also explained why he believes that 90 per cent of Irish players also manage to avoid getting carried away when they travel over to play in England, in comparison to their young English team-mates.