Management legend Warnock quits after 42 years in the dugout

Football legend Neil Warnock has announced his retirement from management after a career spanning more than 40 years and 16 clubs.

Warnock, 73, has managed more games than anyone else in English football history (1,603) and won a record eight Football League promotions.

His last managerial post was with Championship side Middlesbrough, but he left the Teessiders in November of last year and has not managed since.

Best known for his time at Sheffield United, where he guided the Blades to promotion in 2006, Warnock confirmed his retirement from the game on Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday.

He said: "I just thought it was the right time, really, coming towards the end of the season, there's not really a job you're going to get before then. 

"I've had a good run really. I'm enjoying things I've not done for years, I'm having a lot of time with the family, my dogs and I've taken up cycling too.

"I'm not saying the enthusiasm's gone, I've not lost that, but when I see some of my friends who are struggling health-wise, there comes a time where you have to let your family enjoy a little bit more of your time, in particular my wife Sharon.

"When you're a manager you're very selfish, you take your job home with you whether you're on a high or a low and it's very difficult for your wife and kids.

"It's hard to replicate the final whistle when you've won a game, there's nothing quite like that in normal life, and you have to realise you're not going to get that buzz again in that situation. 

"But I'm doing a couple of evenings in the theatre, and I imagine I'll still be nervous before them!"

After retiring as a player, Warnock took his first managerial roles with Gainsborough and Burton before guiding Scarborough into the Football League in 1987.

He then won consecutive promotions with Notts County before picking up promotions with Huddersfield and Plymouth.

A boyhood Blades fan, it was not until his time at Bramall Lane that Warnock finally got to try his hand in the Premier League after taking Sheffield United up as Championship runners-up in 2006.

Further promotions followed with QPR (2010-11) and Cardiff (2017-18).

Warnock also had two spells at Crystal Palace, helping save the Eagles from relegation in 2009-10, before returning in 2014 after promotion.

He performed a similar rescue act at Rotherham and also had a stint with Yorkshire rivals Leeds.