Peter McNamara has warned Mark Philippoussis' aim of being ranked in the worlds top five tennis players could take precedence over playing Davis Cup for Australia.
In an interview with the BBC, and aired yesterday by ABC News Radio, McNamara said Philippoussis "will be looking after his own interests".
Philippoussis has enjoyed a stormy relationship with the Davis Cup. He was severly critiscised for sitting out the defeat by Zimbabwe two years ago.
Last year he was hailed as a hero after almost single handedly leading Australia to victory in the Davis Cup final against France in Nice.
It seemed the rift had been repaired but this season the conflict has flared again with Philippoussis being accused of skipping the Brisbane tie against Brazil in July.
At the time Philippoussis was criticised by both Pat Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt but McNamara insists no animosity exists among the players. "They are all mates and will always be mates," McNamara, a former Davis Cup stalwart, said.
"This is a professional game. This is not just about being proud about playing for Australia".
"We are proud to play for Australia, but let's turn this around and (let Mark) look after his own interests for a change and not the interests of (Davis Cup coaches) John Newcombe and Tony Roche."
McNamara insists the problem lies not with Philippoussis but with Newcombe, the Davis Cup captain, who has told him "they don't want him to play".
"If they want him to play fair enough," McNamara said. "Well think about it but they don't want him to play. They've come out and said that publicly and stated it as fact.
"Now if someone says to me; 'Sorry I don't want you to play', well I can tell you what I'll tell them. And just because Lleyton Hewitt is injured they think they can just walk over and say now we want Mark to play. But I'm sorry it doesn't happen like that in the real world."
Hewitt could be struggling to make the Davis Cup final against Spain in Barcelona in a fortnight but McNamara, brought into Philippoussis' coaching team after the US Open, argues that Philippoussis "did his bit last year".
"He's got a right to get the best out of his game for Mark Philippoussis, not only for Australia," he said. "The thing is there are sacrifices that have to be made.
"If he wants to be top five in the world he can't be going to Brazil playing on clay when it takes him three weekes to get over that the way he plays.
"That means there's three weeks out of his schedule, so his ranking goes down again. I'm only interested in Mark Philippoussis. I don't care what John Newcombe has got on his plate or John Fitzgerald has got on his plate. I care about Mark Philippoussis and Mark Philippoussis should care about himself, so no Davis Cup."
And what about the long term future? Has Mark Philippoussis finished with Australia and the Davis Cup for good? "A decision will be made on Mark's future," McNamara said.
"Now if that includes the Davis Cup, it includes the Davis Cup. But if the dates don't fit in with his schedule then he won't play or he'll play in those matches that do fit into his schedule. They can take it or leave it and we'll think about it.
"But as far as I'm concerned I want Mark Philippoussis to be five, or three or four in the world. I want him to be the best player he can be. The Davis Cup might not be in that schedule for him to be the best player he can be.
"Not everyone is going to take my attitude, I'm sure. They'll go and play Davis Cup because they want to go and play Davis Cup.
"Maybe he will play Davis Cup again, who knows? But at the present moment you can't change the deal. I mean they (Newcombe and Roche) think they can just come out and say; 'We didn't mean to say that. We didn't mean we didn't want you to play'.
"I defy anyone, anyone on this earth, to react differently when someone comes up to you and says 'sorry we don't wan't you to play' then turn around and now want you to play. I can tell you it's not on.