Veteran midfielder Michael Gray has explained his decision to retire from football.

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The 35-year-old - released by Sheffield Wednesday last week - has brought down the curtain on a playing career spanning almost two decades. And Gray revealed to Wednesday Player that his decision to retire is absolutely the right one.

He said: "It came to mind about six months ago, I sat down with my family and decided I was going to finish at the end of the season and I've stuck to that decision. I kept it to myself because obviously we found ourselves in a sticky situation and I didn't want it to come out in the middle of the season.

"I've had a chat with the manager and he wished me all the best in whatever I come to do after football and I do think that now is the time to bow out."

Gray played a total of 600 senior appearances in all competitions, representing Sunderland, Celtic, Blackburn, Leeds, Wolves and Wednesday. He also stored three caps on the international stage with England.

He continued: "I always said to myself that I wanted to carry on playing until the age of 35 and anything after that was a bonus. I got to my target and I have no regrets. I've had a fantastic career, met some tremendous people along the way and I've worked for some amazing clubs.

"I've played 600 games in my career and that was a nice target to reach. But now I'm on the other side of the fence and I can go and meet the managers and players I have known down the years and have a different conversation, if you like. I can go to games and soak it all in without the pressure of needing to win football matches."

In terms of what comes next, Gray added: "I've started doing some media work and I'll probably look down the lines of keeping that going. I would like to stay involved in football in some capacity and that will get me out of the house to go and watch games."

Everyone at Sheffield Wednesday would like to wish Michael all the very best for the future.