Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson admits he almost retired nearly 15 years ago.
Hodgson is now in his 70s and still going strong in the cut throat managerial world of the Premier League.
The ex-England, Fulham and Inter Milan boss has guided Palace to safety for yet another season, despite the odds being stacked against him.
His old jobs also include the Switzerland, UAE and Finland national teams.
"When I went to Halmstad, if you said I would still be working in 10 or 12 years I would've signed up for that straight away," said the 73-year-old to the Evening Standard.
"So everything since then has been an enormous bonus."
"It was Christmas 2007 and my first game with Fulham was on January 1, 2008," he added.
"I could so easily have retired after Finland and even contemplated going down a different route to management and coaching.
"The major one I'd basically decided upon and, had even given a guarantee I suppose, was when I made a promise to replace Giacinto Facchetti at Inter Milan and work alongside Massimo Moratti at the club, but not as a manager, more like a director type role.
"That was immediately thrown into confusion by the fact I received a couple of other management offers which made me think again.
"When the Fulham one came it was the one that that definitely tipped me back to perhaps where I should always have been, I don't think I should have been thinking along those lines and I'm very grateful that Massimo Moratti released me from that promise I had made.
"I am really pleased I didn't go down that route because it has given me such a fantastic time, with living in London all that time and working not only with England for four years but with the two excellent London clubs in Fulham and Crystal Palace.
"It means a long period of my coaching life which has taken place here in London, where I suppose you could argue I belong because it's where it all started."
