Altrincham defender Danny Higginbotham has announced his retirement from football.

The former Stoke City and Derby County man called time on his playing career just one week after joining the Skrill North side from his hometown club Chester.

"I realise this will come completely out of the blue to a lot of people, but, believe me, it is not a decision that has been taken lightly. It is a massive step to hang up your boots and accept you are finished, but it's one I could not avoid," Sky Sports News quotes Higginbotham as saying.

"Looking back, I should probably have quit when I left Chester, but I couldn't pass up the chance of joining Alty. I always said I would play for the club I have always supported and I genuinely hoped it would prove the catalyst for firing me up again and getting me back to how I used to be.

"But the harsh reality is, it didn't, and if anything confirms it is time to go, then that's it."

The defender went on to say that he realised he was done with professional football during Altrincham's recent defeat against Gainsborough Town.

"I had to be true to myself, and if I had carried on pocketing money for the rest of the season, I'd have been letting down the rest of the players, the manager, the supporters and everyone connected with the club," he added.

"Last night at Gainsborough just confirmed it. It wasn't because we lost. I can take a defeat. I just wasn't enjoying it and wasn't putting my body on the line like I used to in my Premier League days, and I just couldn't put it off any longer."

Higginbotham, who began his career with Manchester United, has won one international cap for Gibraltar.