Charlie Mulgrew has opened up about his brief foray into football management—and why he swiftly realised it wasn’t the career path for him.

The former Celtic defender took charge of Kelty Hearts this winter but lasted just 11 games in the dugout before calling time on his first managerial post.

Now, speaking on Open Goal, Mulgrew admits the role wasn’t what he expected.

“It’s weird because you spend the last five, seven years of your football career starting to plan, think what you want to do. Until you’re actually in it and doing it, you don’t know what you’re getting yourself in for,” he said.

“The truth is, I didn’t enjoy it. I didn’t enjoy all of it. It was only part-time, so I think to myself, you go into a career and you want to get to the best, you want to go as high as you can.

“So I think if I’d gone full-time, how would I feel? I couldn’t think of anything worse now than becoming a full-time manager.”

Mulgrew had spent time around some top bosses in the lead-up to taking the Kelty job, including a spell observing Brendan Rodgers at Celtic’s Lennoxtown base. But for all the experience gathered, it didn’t ignite the passion needed to pursue life in the dugout full-time.

Before making the move to management, he commonly appeared on out TVs. He was a pundit for Premier Sports and the BBC, while also appearing on Clyde 1 SSB and Si Ferry’s Open Goal podcast.

He seemed to be doing well making these appearances, and maybe he’s realised that was more suited to him. The former Celtic defender speaks really well about the game and comes across as really knowledgeable, so it was surprising not to see him succeed.

Only time will tell whether he takes a step back into the dugout or watches the game from afar.