Alan Mannus says he put off retirement for at least another year after a chat with his wife.
The Shamrock Rovers goalkeeper, 40, was convinced that 2022 would be his last year in football, because injuries were preventing him from playing with his children.
But after a strong start to the recent campaign, which saw Rovers win their third title in a row and qualify for the Europa Conference League group stages, he had a change of heart.
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So he spoke first to his wife and then to Hoops boss Stephen Bradley - just to be sure he’d still be wanted at the club.
Rovers last week confirmed that Mannus - who turns 41 next May - was staying on for the 2023 campaign.
The former Northern Ireland goalkeeper said yesterday: “Last year, when I was talking about playing in 2022, I said to the manager that this season would be my last.
“I was 99 percent sure it would be but I left a small percentage open.
“I had niggly injuries with my knee and my back last year and I had injections in both to get me through the season.
“It was bothering me to the point that when I was at home with my kids and I was avoiding doing certain things when I was playing with them.
“It was getting to the point when I was saying to myself I can’t keep doing this when it is getting in the way of me playing with my kids.
“So I said, ‘Okay, one more year but I can’t keep doing this’.
“At the end of last season, we had a good bit of a break with the way the league is structured with a couple of months off before pre-season.
“It was so helpful to get a bit of rest and not having to dive around. I was able to do a couple of weeks before pre-season to get my body ready for playing again.
“The combination of those things allowed me to feel better.
“At the start of the season I felt good. I spoke to my wife and said I think I can play on another year.
“She said she thought it would be good as she could see I was enjoying it.
“I spoke to the manager and said I was reconsidering and if he wanted me to stay on.
“We spoke about it and he was happy for me to do it and we got it sorted.
“I’m delighted that the manager has faith in me to still want me to be at the club.
“I felt if I did retire at the end of this year, I might regret it. When you retire that is it, you are done and so it is a big thing.
“I feel I still have the motivation and that is the most important thing. I’m motivated to play and to succeed.”
Mannus is currently in his second spell at Rovers, where he has won five Premier Division titles to add to his five Irish League titles with Linfield and Scottish Cup with St Johnstone.
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