FORMER HULL CITY and Ipswich Town defender Alex Bruce has announced his retirement.

The 36-year-old, son of Newcastle United manager Steve, revealed the news via social media today.

“Unfortunately the day that every footballer dreads has come. The boots are being hung up and I am retiring from playing as of today,” Bruce tweeted.

“On the whole it has been an unbelievable 20 years since I left school at the age of 16 and I have had the privilege of playing for some great clubs. My time at Ipswich and Hull in particular hold very fond memories for me.

“I am going to miss playing as it is without doubt the greatest job in the world. I’d like to thank my family, team-mates and coaches for all their support over the years and I now look forward to starting a new chapter.”

Bruce was part of the Hull team who reached the FA Cup final under his father in 2014 and won promotion to the Premier League with the Tigers.

He also played for Blackburn Rovers, Oldham Athletic, Birmingham City, Sheffield Wednesday, Tranmere Rovers, Leicester City, Leeds United, Huddersfield Town, Wigan Athletic, Bury and Kilmarnock.

Bruce qualified to represent both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland at international level via his grandmother, a Down woman.

Steve Staunton awarded him a debut for the Republic in a May 2007 friendly against Ecuador, and he featured again under Giovanni Trapattoni in a non-competitive fixture with Poland in November 2008.

Following a switch of allegiance in 2012, he was capped twice by Northern Ireland.

– Additional reporting by Paul Dollery