Marc Albrighton admits he has no plans to go into management

By Ben Hart, Sportsbeat

MARC Albrighton is loving life after football and has no intention of pursuing a career in management.

The Leicester City legend called time on his playing career in August, having won the Premier League, FA Cup and Community Shield during a fairytale decade with the Foxes.

A few months down the line, Albrighton has no regrets over his decision to retire and has no urge to recreate the matchday buzz via coaching.

“I’ve loved retirement to be honest,” he said, speaking at the Copa del Cure Leukaemia tournament at St George’s Park.

“I wasn’t 100 percent but I love the freedom, the time with the family which was a big part of my decision and it hasn’t disappointed. I’m trying to do a bit of everything just to see what it is that I enjoy doing.

“I’ve enjoyed the punditry and I’ve started doing a little bit of coaching here and there but we’ll see how I found that. At the moment I’m just saying yes to everything to see what it is that I enjoy.

“But there’s too much work in management for me. The coaches spend more time at the training ground than players do.”

Albrighton is perhaps best remembered for featuring in all 38 games in the Foxes’ epic 2015/16 title victory.

Since then, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have amassed six Premier Leagues including each of the last four, which has led Albrighton to question if it could ever happen again.

“Everything fell into place for us that season and the big teams didn’t perform to the heights,” he said, speaking at the Copa del Cure Leukaemia tournament at St George’s Park.

“Now those battles at the top show just how tough it is to win the Premier League. To have been a part of the group that did it is incredible and something I’ll take to my grave. I really don’t think we’ll ever see anything like it ever again.

“It’s an achievement I’m extremely proud of and I was so pleased to see Claudio (Ranieri) get the plaudits he deserved since he decided to call it a day. He’s a great manager and above that he’s a fantastic person.”

Leicester’s title-winning season was flush with memorable moments but Albrighton opted for a surprise choice when pressed for his favourite game.

“A lot is made of the Man City game at the Etihad but I would say the opening day of the season against Sunderland where we won 4-2. That set us on our way,” he said.

“We were brilliant that day. We played beautiful football in the sunshine and that set us on our way to go and achieve what we did.”

This season has started better than some might have anticipated for Leicester following their return to the top-flight under new manager Steve Cooper.

Saturday’s dramatic 3-2 victory over relegation rivals Southampton could prove pivotal come the end of the season but Albrighton is confident his former side will be safe.

“I’ve watched most of their games and they’ve played well in parts of every game, it’s just the complete performance which they’re lacking,” he said.

“They’ve got a run now where they are playing teams that will be in and around them come the end of the season, so I think the next few weeks will be crucial in terms of where they end up.”

Cure Leukaemia is a UK-based blood cancer charity founded in 2003, working to accelerate the process of bringing life-saving treatments to leukaemia patients by funding specialist Research Nurses across the country