Elvis calls time on career

Former Scotland centreback Steven Pressley has announced his retirement from football after a 19-year-career which included spells at Rangers, Celtic, Hearts and, most recently, Scottish Cup runners-up Falkirk.

Pressley, 35, who won 32 caps for his country, is already an assistant to national team manager George Burley and intends to pursue a career in coaching.

“I would consider all opportunities,” he said. “At this moment in time, I’m studying for my UEFA pro-licence.”

Pressley, inevitably nicknamed ‘Elvis’, started his senior career at Rangers in 1990 and went on to play for Coventry and Dundee United before joining Hearts in 1998.

It was at Tynecastle where he made the most impact, spending eight years there and becoming club captain.

He left controversially at the end of 2006 after he and fellow players Craig Gordon and Paul Hartley publicly criticised majority shareholder Vladmir Romanov.

Pressley joined Celtic for 18 months, helping them win the Scottish Premier League and Scottish Cup double in 2007.

A four-month stint at Danish side Randers late last year was followed by a return to his homeland with Falkirk, for whom his last match was Saturday’s Cup final defeat to Rangers.