Young goalkeeper retires after “falling out of love with the game”

Ipswich goalkeeper Shane Supple has ended his career with immediate effect after having “fallen out of love with the game”.

The Irish keeper, only 22 years of age, announced his unusual decision on the club’s official website: “Player professional football is not something I want to continue doing.

“As you grow up you realise there are other things in life and to be honest, the game is not what I thought it was. […] There is not one reason why I have made my decision, there are a number of factors.

“But deep down my heart is not in the game any more and I’m not going to go into work every day trying to convince myself that it is, so it’s the right time for me to walk away. I suppose you could say that I have fallen out of love with the game and when that happens I’ve always said to myself that I wouldn’t hang around.

Supple started his career at Ipswich Town in 2005. Between then and now, the Dublin-born goalkeeper also had short loan spells at Falkirk and Oldham Athletic.