Dundalk legend Dane Massey retiring while the 'going's good'

Five-time League of Ireland winner Dane Massey is embarking on a new chapter in his life after calling time on his playing career.

The 35-year-old, capped for the Republic of Ireland in futsal, feels it is the right time to step away from a career bookended by spells at Bray Wanderers either side of his time at Drogheda United and, most notably, Dundalk.

"I'm hanging up the boots. I decided just before Christmas to do it, so hanging them up after probably 14-15 years in the league," he told RTÉ's Sunday Sport.

"I've been blessed throughout my career with injuries. I've never had a bad one and even this year I had a couple of options for clubs.

"My wife's had another baby and I decided, look, I've two healthy knees and two healthy hips and I said I'll get out while the going's good."

The core period of his trophy-winning years came during former Ireland manager Stephen Kenny's tenure and Massey has fond memories of his fellow Dubliner's impact.

"He was an amazing man manager to be honest. My first meeting with him, he didn't even want to know about football or what I do training wise," he said.

"He wanted to get to know me personally and he wanted to know about my family and he wanted to get a good feel for the sort of person I was and I felt that was the changing room I went into at Dundalk.

"We were all very similar, all headstrong kind of guys and there were no real messers in the group. We all had a plan and we all had that target. It just clicked really."

Initially, during his early days with Dundalk, he had combining football with work as an electrician at Jervis Shopping Centre in maintenance, before taking the risk to go full-time as a pro.

It's a decision that paid off when Massey looks at his league and FAI Cup medals -