"It has been a test for me mentally more than at any other time in my career," says Andy, who missed out on facing England for Wales recently when he pulled out through injury just before kick-off.
"The England game was a big one because of the press involvement leading up to it but unfortunately, I had to make a decision on my calf on the Saturday morning, which I had 'done' earlier in the week - and a lot of people don't know about that.
"In hindsight it was the wrong one because when I went out for the warm-up, from the word go, it felt as if it wasn't to be.
"So in the end I had to pull out, because I wouldn't have just let myself down but all the players - and the country as well.
"I wanted to give myself every chance to be involved but in the end when we were stretching it was too much and I was almost limping - I just couldn't do it."
Of the game itself, he adds:
"We conceded an early goal which might have happened anyway if I had been playing; we didn't get off to the best of starts but hopefully we can respond in the right manner because te first four games haven't gone as we would have wanted.
"I am sure when the new manager comes in he can take it on again."
The timing of his decision to quit was not affected by his missing out on the Englanmd game because of the problem, however, and he reveals:
"It is nothing to do with the injury at all, to be honest; I have had a good innings and I think it was time to move on.
"It was a very hard decision because it had been going through my mind for 10 days, but I think the new manager is going to come in and look at things in general with all the young lads coming through who will hopefully get their chance."
He hopes his retirement from playing for Wales will benefit his displays in the claret and blue and he adds:
"I hope it will help my West Ham career because it hasn't kicked off at all since I have been here.
"You have to be honest with yourself and your situation and I think I can only get better - so I need to get my head down, work hard, and who know what is round the corner."
He says he can handle the flak, adding:
"People will jump on the bandwagon a bit and you get those things - but obviously you just have to ride them.
"I have played first team all my life and I think people forget about that; if you look at how many appearances I have made over the years people might take their words back.
"It hasn't been ideal for me here but it is up to me to prove people wrong and most importantly do it for myself and hopefully I will do that in the coming weeks.
"I enjoy the place, it is a great club, the fans are fantastic, and they should really be only in one place.
"People ask me 'what is the club like?' and I say they should be in the Premier League.
"We have the ability and squad size now to be definitely in contention, which is what we are trying to do.
"If you are in the side you know you can't slip up - as I did against Wigan, and it put me on the back foot."
Andy is all too aware of the competition for a place at centre half and he adds:
"These things come to test you and you just have to keep going; you don't know what is round the corner.
"I am aiming to get fit, first and foremost, and then we will take it from there; you can't set too many targets at the moment."
Andy, still on the injured list, missed out on Chelsea last week, and adds:
"It would have been a great game to be involved in because they don't come round that often but hopefully they will in the future.
"It was a great place to go and the lads were dying to get out there; I was talking to a few of the lads about it and those sorts of places are the only ones to go to - the adrenalin takes over."
One of the players Andy has to compete with is Anton Ferdinand, who, although he missed out at Plymouth, did himself no harm against Chelsea.
Andy is backing him to have a good career at Upton Park and he says:
"He has got everything that a centre half needs; we keep telling him all the time he has got nothing to worry about, it is just a matter of time before he will be in there doing the business week in, week out."
Concentration for 90 minutes can be a problem for young defenders but Andy smiles:
"He is learning all the time but you can get done even at the age of 35 for concentration levels!
"People will say that about him but over time he will learn and there are a lot of experienced players at the club so hopefully we can help him out much as we can."