Premier League cult hero reveals major career change as he admits coaching ‘wasn’t for me’
FORMER Premier League cult hero Paddy Kenny has undergone a major career change since hanging up his boots.
Synonymous with playing under Neil Warnock, Kenny starred for Sheffield United, QPR and Leeds among others during a successful career.
As his playing days began to wind down, the goalkeeper tried his hand at coaching to see if it could be an option post-retirement.
During the 2016-17 season, he worked as a player-goalkeeping coach at Northampton Town.
He decided it wasn’t for him, however, briefly playing for non-league side Maltby Main after leaving Sixfields before walking away from the beautiful game.
Kenny, now 45, has taken to social media to reveal why he’s no longer working in football.
He tweeted: “People keep asking me why I aren’t involved in football but I’ve dipped my toes in coach @ntfc but it wasn’t for me.
“I’ve taken a different path now in my life with my transport business, after dinners and been the best dad I can be.
“I’m very content in my life as well.”
Kenny works as a director for his PK Transport Movements business.
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The former goalkeeper can still regularly be found on the after-dinner circuit.
He has plenty of stories to tell, having twice been promoted from the Championship.
Kenny made 67 Premier League appearances during his career, while he was also capped seven times by the Republic of Ireland.
He is most well-remembered for his time at Sheffield United, having played over 300 times for the Blades.
The 6ft 1in stopper was also No1 in QPR’s Championship title-winning team – playing a season in the Prem with them before being usurped by Brazilian star Julio Cesar.
Kenny recently told a hilarious story from his time playing under Warnock.
He revealed on the I Had Trials Once podcast: “Warnock used to take us to Cornwall all the time.
“We were playing a game, we’re all there getting changed before we go out. Warnock’s brought this young kid in about 14 years old.
“This young kid has come in with his dad and we were like ‘what’s going off here, f***ing hell, why would he be playing?’
“Anyway, he tells us, ‘just to let you all know lads, this is so and so and his dad so and so. He’s playing 20 minutes at the end of the game’.
“We were like, eh? Anyway this young kid comes on, plays 20 minutes, pre-season I think it was Bodmin we were playing.
“We found out afterwards the lad’s dad had decorated Warnock’s house, so instead of paying he gave his lad 20 minutes of a pre-season game.”