Revealed: Why Birmingham City's new signing hadn't kick a ball for seven months

Mar 7 2009 by Colin Tattum, Birmingham Mail

STEPHEN Carr has revealed he hadn’t kicked a ball in seven months until joining Blues.

And now the defender has his sights set on earning a long-term deal at St Andrew’s after his comeback from retirement.

However, Carr explained that although he had hung up his boots in December, he was desperate to return to the game and hadn’t snubbed football for good.

He was released by Newcastle in the summer and, apart from a short trial spell at Leicester, didn’t receive any decent offers. So he returned to Dublin, enjoyed time with his family and hit the gym four times a week.

“I had said I had retired, but it had purely come from the fact I had one or two offers in the summer that didn’t suit and nothing then came along,” he told the Birmingham Mail.

“So at December, I thought I wasn’t going to get a chance, and I’d leave it at that, but I was still hoping something would materialise. But the longer you are out of the game, it gets harder.

“Leading up to Christmas, my first year at home, with the kids and all, it was exciting. But once the buzz goes then it’s a big reality check.

“I was fit, I wanted to play but the opportunities weren’t there for me.