Neil Warnock has revealed Cardiff City will be his last job in football.
The Bluebirds manager – who insists he is determined to keep the club in the Premier League – has this season and next remaining on his contract.
But as Warnock prepares to face Brighton in Saturday’s early kick-off, he has revealed that he will not be looking for another position when his time in Wales comes to an end.
The man who has taken charge of over 1,500 games in 17 different jobs will be overseeing his 100th match as Cardiff manager this weekend.
“I want to end on a high,” said Warnock who guided Cardiff to promotion last season against the odds, but whose team are now back in the relegation zone.
“When you get to my age, you can’t look beyond the next few months. Life changes so quickly, you can’t really plan at all.
“I would love to keep Cardiff up and stabilize the club and keep them up again next season. But I have got a fitness regime and it’s harder as you get older to train and motivate yourself.
“You have to drive to keep yourself fit and be able to react mentally very quickly. My health will decide how long I stay in the job.
“I look at this club as a farewell job. I don’t think I’ll be leaving to go to another club.”
Warnock will turn 70 next month and is currently the second oldest manager in the four divisions after 71-year-old Roy Hodgson at Crystal Palace.
But the Leicester City helicopter crash and the heart attack suffered by former England manager Glenn Hoddle have made Warnock re-evaluate the importance of his own health.
He added: “I can’t see me managing at 100, although maybe I’ll be the first one!
“It’s an achievement and I feel what I’ve done in the 100 games is the best in my career. I keep surpassing myself.
“I thought Rotherham was the best thing I’d done and then coming here in the situation we were in – to be playing in the Premier League after 100 games is a minor miracle and it pleases me that the fans have been unbelievable.
“It’s almost like they’re working for me, like they’re on the staff! And the fans believe we have an outside chance of staying up and I don’t see why we can’t finish above three.
“If it wasn’t for the fans it wouldn’t be the same situation. Working for them has been one of the happiest times of my life – and my job’s not finished yet.
“Having thought about retiring two or three times I’m really glad that I didn’t. I do feel better for doing what I’ve done here but I don’t think my job’s finished yet.
“It’s been the most difficult time, not just on the field. It is stressful but at my time of life the stress is all self-inflicted.
“I’ve not got much time left and I want to finish in football in a high. I think another 100 games might be difficult. We’ll see how things go this season.
“There comes a time where I want to see one or two places I haven’t seen before. You see what happened at Leicester and with Glenn Hoddle – who I think is a fantastic guy – and it brings it home to you that life is on a thread.”
