KRIS Commons has revealed he could retire from playing this summer and move into coaching or media work after leaving Celtic.
Commons took part in his last game at Parkhead on Sunday when he was involved in the Celtic Charity Foundation match between “Henrik’s Heroes” and “Lubo’s Legends”.
The attacking midfielder hasn’t played for Brendan Rodgers’s side during the 2016/17 campaign, but he showed he had lost none of his fitness or ability and netted a goal in front of a sell-out crowd.
The 33-year-old is available for free and is interesting several Ladbrokes Premiership clubs – including newly-promoted Hibernian where former Celtic manager Neil Lennon is in charge.
However, the former Scotland internationalist, who spent a hugely successful loan spell at Hibs in December and January, hasn’t ruled out the possibility of hanging up his boots altogether
“I’m going on holiday on Tuesday and then I will come back and reflect on what has been, and what will be going forward,” said Commons.
“I have options and that’s not just football. There is coaching, media, plenty of doors are open. It’s my decision over the next couple of weeks.
“I want to be 100 per cent committed whatever door I walk through. This next part of my journey, playing, coaching, or media, I want to be as committed as I possibly can be. It’s all about my family.
“As a footballer, you want to play for the best clubs at the highest level. I’ve been lucky, I have done that. For me, now it’s about enjoying my football. If I can pass my knowledge on to younger players, then that would be great.
“But it’s just whether that should be in a playing capacity or if I should go down the coaching route.”
Commons added: “I still in my head feel like I have unfinished business as a player. But the doubt for me is whether I can get up to a level where I am going to be the Kris Commons everyone knows.
“If I’m not, then there is no point just dwindling away. I’d rather finish on a relative high. If I can get fit enough to play, then I will. But I don’t want to be the guy who has 21-year-olds running past him. I don’t want to have a feeling of disappointment in my last two years in football.”
Commons, who signed for Celtic from Derby County for just £300,000 in 2011, scored the goal against Spartak Moscow and ensured the Glasgow club reached the last 16 of the Champions League back in 2012.
He is confident Rodgers’s side can build on the success they have enjoyed this season – they have won the treble and gone undefeated in all 47 domestic fixtures – in Europe in the 2017/18 campaign.
“This squad can compete in Europe at the moment,” he said. “But the clubs in Europe have big budgets? Do Celtic chuck millions and millions to try and secure Champions League football every year? I don’t know. I just don’t think there is enough money in Scottish football right now to do that.
“But if Brendan has the same pull as he did when first came through the door, he can say, ‘This is what I need, these are the requirements’. He is a guy who genuinely knows what it takes to get to the next level.
“We gave Ajax a really good game a few years back. They have a lot of young kids and got all the way to the Europa final. For Celtic, it’s a case of having another dominant season in Scotland, winning the league and competing at the top level.”
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