Reading legend Shane Long has opened up on the pain his body was in by the time he retired in 2023, admitting he does not miss football since finishing.

The Republic of Ireland striker played over 200 times for the Royals across two spells and finished his career in Berkshire, retiring after the club's relegation in 2022/23.

Ending under the management of former teammate Noel Hunt, the current Under-21 boss spoke highly of Long and the veteran's dedication to get back on the field to try and help the team stay in the Championship.

Finishing with two goals in 32 appearances during 2022/23, the Southampton favourite appeared on a podcast with former England goalkeeper Ben Foster.

Speaking about life post-playing, the 37-year-old delved into the pain has body was in by the end.

"I was done with football," the forward admitted. "It was more about making as much money as I can for me and my family to be settled for the rest of our lives. When you get to that stage and you’re done with football, you just don’t really care anymore.

"The big thing for me was that I didn’t realise how much pain I had and how many aches I had. You wake up in the morning and it takes 15 minutes for your Achilles to start working and your knees are killing. It was only two or three months after stopping that I went ‘I feel grand now.’ It was just normal."

Now enjoying his post-playing life as a father and husband, Long went on to discuss the future, and whether he would return to the game.

"I always promised myself time out of football and time out of work to just see the kids grow up and play golf to get my handicap down. If I do something, it will be just to take up time rather than earn money. It will be to keep me occupied.

"The kids are still young- 14, 10 and seven, so I’m dad taxi at the moment. I’m enjoying being around. A game of hockey at school I can go and watch, just random little things that you don’t think about. It won’t be long before I get very lazy and do absolutely nothing so I’ve got to be careful."