'I'll miss being booed': Robbie Savage quits football
Published 15:48 01/02/11 By Steve Anglesey
Veteran midfielder and MirrorFootball columnist Robbie Savage has admitted "I'll miss being booed" after announcing his plans to hang up his boots at the end of the season.
The 36-year-old revealed he decided to quit the game and concentrate on his media career after being left out of Wales' squad to face the Republic of Ireland next week.
Savage said: "That brought it home to me and maybe I had been a bit naive to think I could get into Gary Speed's plans.
"It will be a huge wrench to leave football but the truth is don't do anything quite as well as I used to and it feels like time for a fresh start.
"I've not been a great player but I have overachieved and I'm proud of what I've done. I will miss getting booed every Saturday."
Savage - who last months turned down a move to the MLS with Vancouver Whitecaps - revealed he had pondered quitting immediately but said: "I feel like I owe it to Derby to carry on until the end of the season. It will be emotional to have my kids and my family there when I play my last game.
"It is a big consolation to be going out at a great club like Derby. With respect to the clubs down there, I don't want to drop down the leagues and become a joke."
Savage will now concentrate on his media career with the BBC, ESPN and MirrorFootball, although he remains interested in a coaching job and said: "Even though I have told myself this is it, if a club out there was looking for a player/coach I would have to consider it."
