Stephen Carr admits he's grateful to Birmingham City for rescuing his career.

The 33 year-old fullback has proved one of football's great bargains this season.

He told the Sunday Mercury: “I hardly played in my final season at Newcastle. I think I was diagnosed with a hamstring injury four times.

“That might have put people off. I can understand it, I suppose. They’d be looking at a 32-year-old with a poor injury record and wondering what he had to contribute.

“Only those injuries weren’t as they seemed and we had finally got to the root cause of the problem before I was released by Newcastle.

“But then I sat by the phone. And I waited and waited. No one seemed to be interested in me, so I announced my retirement.

“There were one or two inquiries. But they were, with respect, a level below which I didn’t really want to go. I still felt I could do it in the Championship or Premier League. Clearly no one else did.

“So you do all those things you have promised you’d do when you stop playing. You mess about with the kids, take some holidays.

“Only it comes as a shock when the phone doesn’t ring. Did I take it for granted? Yes, I think I did. And I think a lot of footballers possibly do, too.

“When the call came through from Birmingham, I was just about to go to Tenerife. That holiday had to be shelved.”