Rangers fan James McArthur insists he doesn't regret missing the chance to play for his boyhood heroes. The former Scotland international retired two years ago after a distinguished playing career, starring for Hamilton, Wigan Athletic and Crystal Palace. McArthur came through the ranks at Accies alongside James McCarthy and the pair both headed south to the Latics, stunning Manchester City to lift the FA Cup in 2013. The midfielder then earned legendary status at Crystal Palace, spending nine years at Selhurst Park and amassing more than 250 appearances for the club before hanging up his boots. Now 37, the Glasgow-born star looks back on his career with immense pride. But when asked if he wished he pulled on the famous royal blue jersey, McArthur told PLZ Soccer: "Obviously as a fan, yes. "But as a family man, probably not. I love the way I can walk down the street and not get bothered. "I love that my kids aren't Rangers and Celtic players' kids, like 'That's his, that's his!'. My kids are who they are. "Probably earlier on, I would have liked to have played for them but not at the end because I couldn't move anymore. "As a fan, you don't want to go somewhere where you know you can't succeed with your body, with getting injured and you then become probably a failure in a lot of people's eyes. "I'm happy with the way my career turned out and I wouldn't change it." Meanwhile, McArthur believes the next crop of youngsters breaking into the game aren't pushing themselves as much as previous generations. He said: "In England, I see a lot of kids down there that don't push themselves so much. When I was coming through, you went into a first-team dressing room and I would kick anyone, I would do anything. "I think there's now that kind of happiness to be given that opportunity rather than striving to make a success of themselves no matter who is in front of them. "I think times have probably changed where everything is so much more professional than it was back in the day. There's probably more talent now than there was. "But I think the character that was once there may not be there as much and I think that's down to the game of football not allowing that to happen. "The grounding of young men has gone out of the game. Say cleaning boots, cleaning the dressing rooms or helping the kit men - they are not allowed to do that anymore. "I know that we want to treat everyone the same but there needs to be a grounding there. That's stood me in good stead for the future and it didn't make me feel anything less than anyone else. "I think it's a respect thing where I looked at people like Alex Neil at Hamilton and think, 'I want to get there' but I also respect where I'm at. I want to work hard to get there." Follow Record Sport on Twitter , Facebook and Instagram for all of the up-to-the minute breaking news, video and audio on the SPFL, the Scotland national team and beyond. You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Rangers and Celtic pages, and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season. We're also WhatsApp where we bring all the latest breaking news and transfer gossip directly to you phone. Join our Rangers community here and our Celtic community here . Tune in to Hotline Live every Sunday to Thursday and have your say on the biggest issues in Scottish football and listen to Record Sport's newest podcast, Game On , every Friday for your sporting fix, all in bitesize chunks.