Sheringham to hang up boots at end of season

(AP)

Teddy Sheringham, the former England striker who won 51 caps for his country and played for seven different clubs, announced yesterday that he will retire at the end of the season

The player, who will celebrate his 42nd birthday next month, will see out the rest of the campaign with the Championship club Colchester United before hanging up his boots.

He joked that he had no desire to emulate Sir Stanley Matthews by playing on until the age of 50. "My Dad wanted me to carry on and beat Sir Stanley Matthews's record, but I feel this season is the time to bow out."

Sheringham had two stints with Tottenham Hotspur and played for six other clubs in a career spanning 26 years. His most notable contribution came in scoring the late equaliser which helped Manchester United to defeat Bayern Munich in the Champions League final of 1999.

"I've no thoughts about going into management, but football has been my life and hopefully I will be back at some point in the future. Until then I have to try and help Colchester United stay in the Championship." Sheringham agreed a one-year deal with Colchester after being released by West Ham last summer.

Sheringham began as an apprentice with Millwall and moved on to Nottingham Forest in 1991, before starting his first spell at Tottenham a year later. He joined Manchester United in 1997 but went back to Spurs before featuring in Portsmouth's return to the Premier League in 2003-04. He stepped down a division to help West Ham to promotion and played in the 2006 FA Cup final.

Due to his passing ability and vision he was seen as an ideal second striker and built a partnership with Alan Shearer for England.