Kieron Dyer announces his retirement - and then reveals his ambition to be the next Pep Guardiola

Former England international has retired at the age of 34 after an injury-plagued career

Kieron Dyer in action for QPR at White Hart Lane (Getty Images)

Kieron Dyer has announced his retirement from football after an injury savaged career, but he now hopes to move into coaching with a move back to his first club Ipswich Town with a view to becoming the next Pep Guardiola.

Dyer played for Queens Park Rangers, West Ham and Newcastle having begun his career at with the Tractor Boys.

He ended his career with a spell at Middlesbrough last season, but has decided to hang up his boots at the age of 34.

Although he has been plagued by injuries throughout his career, he insists that they have no forced him into ending his playing day.

He turned down lucrative contracts with clubs in the United States and Dubai to concentrate on his move into coaching, and to also spend more time with his children.

An independent Ipswich Town website, twtd.co.uk, reported Dyer as saying: “'I’m done now, I’m content and that’s it. I don’t want to move away any more, I just want to spend quality time with my kids.

“'Since I went up to Newcastle, I’ve been all over the country and I haven’t really had too much quality time with my kids and now I feel that it’s the perfect time.”

His mentor Bryan Klug, who is currently the head of Ipswich’s Academy, has said that Dyer wants to copy the style of Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola, whose success as manager of Barcelona was the clubs most successful era to date.

Dyer admitted: “That’s true! I want to have a cool suit on exactly like him and just look cool like him on the touchline.”

He does need to gain his coaching badges before he can start making inroads into the coaching set-up at Ipswich though, so for now he is just joining in with sessions to gain experience.

He started his career with his hometown club back in 1996, signing a professional contract at the age of 17 and going on to become one of England’s most promising midfielders.

He moved to Newcastle in 1999 for £6m where he gained his first England call-up in September 2009, setting up Alan Shearer’s goal in the 6-0 victory over Luxembourg, and he went on to gain 33 caps for his country before his final appearance in August 2007 in the 2-1 friendly defeat to Germany.

Dyer is famously known for becoming embroiled in an on-pitch bust-up with his Newcastle team-mate Lee Bowyer, with the two having to be separated by both colleagues and opponents before they were both sent off.