FORMER Blackburn Rovers midfielder Matty Holmes has decided to call time on his playing career after 16 years in the game.

Holmes, who joined Rovers from West Ham in 1995, has quit as player-coach of non-league Dorchester Town in order to concentrate on a coaching career and spend more time with his family.

The 35-year-old was awarded £250,000 in damages earlier this year after he was the victim of what his lawyer described as the 'second most expensive tackle in history'.

Holmes was wearing the colours of Charlton Athletic in 1998 when his left leg was shattered as a result of a crunching tackle from Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Kevin Muscat.

The injury was serious enough to end Holmes's professional career but he stayed involved in the game by accepting the post of player-coach at Dorchester in 2000.

Now, however, Holmes has reached the point where he no longer feels comfortable combining the two roles so he's reluctantly decided to hang up his boots.

"I just couldn't see a way round it," said Holmes.

"If I had still been around, training at Dorchester along with the coaching would have taken up a whole week - and with the games at the weekend, I would have hardly been able to see my kids.

"The coaching nights I do are going to be more of a long term prospect than playing for another year or so.

"At a push I could have done that but you can only play for so long and you have to know when to stop.

"It has been a brilliant four years and I only joined the club because I had known Mark Morris (Dorchester's manager) at AFC Bournemouth and we got on well.

"Getting relegated in my first season with the club was disappointing because I got an injury to my hamstring and by the time I got back it was not enough to keep us in the Dr Marten's Premier Division."

Ray Harford brought Holmes to Ewood in the summer immediately after Rovers won the Premier League title.

He went on to make just a dozen appearances for the club before quitting for Charlton in 1997.