Micky Stockwell has announced his retirement from League football.

The evergreen former Maldon Plume schoolboy will hang up his boots at the end of the season.

His professional playing career has spanned 21 years and 757 Premiership, League and cup games so far with Ipswich Town and Colchester United.

But he told the Evening Gazette today: "I'd like to go out in style by having at least one more run-out as a player in Colchester's last two games against Wycombe Wanderers and Queens Park Rangers."

Micky Stockwell has announced his league retirement

Equally at home in midfield, up front, or at the back, Stockwell, who celebrated his 38th birthday in February, said: "I will finish playing at the end of the season.

"And at the moment I haven't received any coaching offer from Colchester United."

Currently nearing the end of his third season with the Second Division club, and dogged by a niggling back injury, the 2001-02 U's Player-of-the-Year said: "I would like to get into coaching in a big way, but I felt the time is right to stop playing.

"I have played the best part of 750 games in my career and I didn't want to stop because I was forced to by injury.

"I've been a regular in the Colchester side for the past three seasons until recently, despite suffering a few niggles this year, and I would like to be remembered for being a good player rather than one who hung on too long."

Winner of a Division Two championship winners medal in 1992, which propelled Ipswich straight into the first season of Premier League football, and a part of Town's squad which won the 2001 Division One play-off final at Wembley, Stockwell was U's caretaker manager Geraint Williams' right-hand man before current boss Phil Parkinson arrived at Layer Road.

It has been announced that Chris Keeble's contract will not be renewed in the summer.

Published Wednesday, April 23, 2003

Brought to you by the Evening Gazette