Tommie Hoban has opened up on his decision to retire at 27, with the former Watford and Crewe Alexandra defender stating he had lost love for the game.
Earlier this summer, 27-year-old defender Tommie Hoban made the decision to bring an end to his playing career.
It was a surprising turn of events, with the centre-back only joining David Artell’s Crewe Alexandra earlier in the transfer window following his departure from Scottish Premiership side Aberdeen.
Now, Hoban has moved to shed light on the decision to bring an end to his playing days.
READ: League Two side secure deal for veteran midfielder Glenn Whelan
As quoted by The 42, Hoban has stated that he lost love for the game, adding that he hoped his move to Crewe would help him reignite that love for the sport.
He went on to add that he felt as though he had to force his enjoyment of the game, also saying he was not the same from a physical standpoint as he was years ago.
Here’s what he had to say on the matter:
“Football has been my life since I was a kid and I’ve put so much into it, so I didn’t want to just give up on it too easily.
“By signing for Crewe I was hoping that I would rediscover the level of love for the game that I had before.
“I’m not saying the love had completely gone, because I did still enjoy playing, but that spark that I could see in the other boys was just no longer there.
“I probably put on a front, hiding it, acting like everything was fine. I wasn’t depressed or anything like that, but I felt like I was having to force the enjoyment rather than it being there naturally, like it always had been. Unfortunately, as pre-season went on at Crewe, nothing was changing.
“On top of that, even though I did come back from the injuries I’ve had, I’m not the same physically as I was five years ago.”
Hoban went on to add that the decision to bring an end to his playing career had not been forced by injury, despite struggling with injury problems at times in his career.
Hoban’s career
The former Republic of Ireland youth ace made his senior breakthrough with Watford, coming through their ranks and breaking into the senior side at Vicarage Road.
Hoban played 58 times for the Hornets before his departure in 2019, also spending time out on loan with Wealdstone, Blackburn Rovers and Aberdeen.
Following his Watford departure, the centre-back joined Aberdeen permanently before his departure earlier this summer.
