TAUNTON Town utility player Brett Trowbridge has retired due to injury, and a desire to spend more time with his family.

Trowbridge, capable of playing in the centre of defence and midfield, only rejoined the Peacocks this season from Street, but injuries have taken their toll on a player known for his professionalism and composure on the ball.

He told the County Gazette: “I’ve been thinking about retiring for a while now, due to a number of factors.

“I’ve been playing football for 15 years at senior level, and as you get older you tire mentally and physically.

“I live in Shepton Mallet now, I have a young family, and I’ve been suffering with my knee after having two operations.

“But it was a difficult decision to finish; it feels a bit strange now, but I’m sure I will get used to it.”

The 32-year-old started his career at hometown club Bridgwater Town, spending six seasons there, and he played three games for them in September of this year before rejoining Taunton.

He said: “I went to Bridgwater on loan and I felt it [his knee] there, so I saw a specialist.

“It was a shame to get back into the swing of things and then that happens, and doubt creeps in as you get older.”

After four years at Weston-super-Mare, Trowbridge signed for Taunton for the 2014/15 season, had a stint at Yate Town, and then returned to the Viridor Stadium, captaining the club to the FA Cup first round in 2016, and also winning the Somerset Premier Cup in 2017.

“It was some run [in the FA Cup],” he said.

“I’d never experienced anything like that year as captain, and I loved it – it’s just a shame we couldn’t finish the season with a win in the play-offs.

“That FA Cup run was a massive highlight for me – I’ve got a montage framed at home – and I will never forget it.”

Trowbridge remained a regular in the side the following season, as the Peacocks won promotion to Evo-Stik Southern League Premier Division South, before an eye socket injury kept him sidelined for the second half of the campaign.

He said: “I’d not won much in my career until then.

“Because of my injury I didn’t feel part of it [the league title win] as much, but still it was a massive achievement.

“We’d won the Somerset Premier Cup the year before, but you measure yourself by the league over the whole season.”

In total, Trowbridge made 129 appearances for the Peacocks, scoring five goals.

In that time he has seen the club progress from play-off wannabes in the Southern League’s second flight to pace-setters in the division above.

“The club’s quite different now [compared to 2014],” he explained.

“Back then it was a very different team; I had come from Weston-super-Mare, and aside from Jamie Price not many in the Taunton team had played at a higher level.

“Now, all the players have played higher up, or are more than capable of doing so, and there’s much more experience.

“It’s always been pretty professional off the pitch, but still it’s come on leaps and bounds.

“It’s so well run by [chairman] Kevin Sturmey and his team, and the pitch is lovely.

“I remember you never used to look forward to going to Taunton because the pitch wasn’t so good, but it’s been transformed.”

As for the mood in the dressing room under new head of football Rob Dray, he added: “The squad is very together, the players are hard working and they never know when they’re beaten.

“They have that never say die attitude that we saw last Wednesday [against Salisbury].

“I certainly think they can finish around the play-off spots this season.

“There’s plenty of games still to play but I think that is a realistic target, and would be a great achievement coming from the league below.”

As for Trowbridge’s own future, he’s not yet making plans to stay involved in football, as a coach or in some other capacity.

He said: “I’ve not really thought about it yet.

“At the moment I’d probably say no, but time will tell.”

Taunton's head of football Rob Dray paid tribute to Trowbridge, a player he's known for a long time.

“He’s the easiest player I’ve ever had to manage,” he said.

“He conducts himself with the utmost professionalism, he looks after himself [fitness-wise], and he does his talking on the pitch.

“I’ve known him since he was 17 and I managed Bridgwater Town Reserves; he was exceptional then, and went on to dominate midfield for Weston-super-Mare.”