Leicester City’s veteran striker Kevin Phillips revealed on Monday that he will retire at end of the Championship season this weekend.
Phillips will make the final appearance of his 20-year career when he plays for already promoted Championship winners Leicester against Doncaster Rovers at the King Power Stadium in Leicester on Saturday.
The 40-year-old goes out on a high after helping Leicester into the Premier League just a year after his penalty in the Championship playoff final at Wembley gave Crystal Palace promotion at the expense of his former club Watford.
Phillips was capped eight times by England and has so far scored 287 goals in his much-traveled career.
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
He joined Watford in 1994 from non-league Baldock Town, before moving to Sunderland three years later.
He enjoyed great success during his six-year stint with the Black Cats, winning promotion to the Premier League, making his England debut and winning the Premier League Golden Boot, scoring 30 goals in the 1999-2000 campaign.
Following Sunderland’s relegation in 2002-2003, Phillips moved on to Southampton, where he spent two years, before spells with Aston Villa, West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham City.
He then spent two years with Blackpool, before heading to Crystal Palace and helping the Eagles back into the Premier League.
PROMOTION
Phillips has made 11 appearances for Leicester since joining the club in January and after clinching yet another promotion he has decided to retire.
In his column on the Sky Sports Web site, Phillips said: “After 20 amazing years as a professional footballer, I’ve decided to announce my retirement.”
“After scoring the winner to get Crystal Palace promoted at the end of last season there were a few voices in the back of my head saying: ‘Maybe I should retire now,’ but I decided to continue for another season for the chance to play in the Premier League as a 40-year-old,” he said. “I managed to do that earlier in this campaign — joining an exclusive group of three other players who have played in the Premier League as 40-year-olds — but now the time is right. After a lot of consideration and time spent talking with my family, the Leicester manager Nigel Pearson and my agent, I think the time has come. I turn 41 in July and I just feel now, with sore ankles and the way my body is, it’s not going to get any easier.”
STAYING IN THE GAME
Phillips is set to stay in the game after agreeing to join Pearson’s coaching staff at Leicester.
“The manager at Leicester has offered me a position in the coaching staff, with a role with the first team for next season, which I’d like to pursue,” Phillips added.
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