Salif Diao plots Stoke City exit

Salif Diao has revealed that he is likely to leave Stoke City when his contract expires at the end of the season.

The 35-year-old had been offered the opportunity to coach some of the club's youngsters ahead of the new campaign.

However, the former Senegal international does not feel ready to hang up his boots.

"I had a discussion with the gaffer," he told the Sentinel. "But it doesn't look like I will be offered a new contract as a player, so I will be looking to move.

"They offered me an assistant coaching role, or coaching the Under-21s next season. But for me, I think it is too early, because I haven't earned my coaching badges yet.

"I would only like to do it when I am ready, so maybe I will be back here in the future when I have my badges, who knows? There is no ill-feeling at all, that is life and that is football. Sometimes things move on and you are not a part of it, so you have to follow your own path."

Diao joined the Potters in 2006 from Liverpool.