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Paddy Kavanagh jokes that he is nearly as old as his famous namesake poet, but the winger is committed to playing on in the League of Ireland despite leaving Bohemians yesterday after five years.

The 32-year-old cut his ties after realising that Bohs’ determination to blood youngsters is paying dividends.

Kavanagh said: “I was born in 1985 and there are lads in the dressing room born in 97, 98 and 99 and you’re thinking ‘holy s**t’.

“I was talking to one of them the other day about the Manchester United team that won the treble in 99, and he was looking at me going ‘what are you on about?’”

But Kavanagh insists he has one last hurrah in him and - in talks with clubs - hopes to land a deal elsewhere by the weekend.

The transfer window for contracted players closed yesterday, but Kavanagh signed his release forms on Monday so can move anytime until the end of August.

While this is not a retirement interview, the Dubliner cannot believe how quickly his career has gone.

Kavanagh said: “Apart from Dundalk and Cork who have seasoned campaigners, everyone else from Rovers down is blooding youngsters.

“I spoke with Keith Long as we’ve have a lot of wingers now and the club is giving youth its chance with a lot of serious players.

“Andy Lyons has come into the team the last two weeks and he’s going to be a serious player. The same can be said for Danny Grant and Danny Kelly.

“The potential coming through the ranks there is exceptional, but that’s the way the league is going.

“I was being called a veteran at 28, so the newspapers have been kind to me. ‘Old codger Patrick Kavanagh’ - I’m nearly as old as the poet and I’m still running around!"

Kavanagh scored against Waterford for UCD on his league debut in 2006 and won a league title with Shamrock Rovers four years later.

“It has been some adventure in the ‘Greatest League In The World’ - it lives up to that hashtag - but it’s gone like a shot,” he said.

By day, Kavanagh is an electrician for ‘Designer Group’ and knows he was luckier than others to have accommodating bosses who gave him time off for football.

Others also have nothing to fall back on career wise and that’s something Kavanagh appreciates now that he’s in the latter stages of his playing days..

He tries to hammer home that message to younger players, but having been there himself, knows it can go in one ear and out the other.

“It definitely does,” he said. “You’re young, you’re playing in the top tier of the country, seeing your name in the paper every week.

“You have your picture up on your social media profile and you think you’re the bee’s knees - but it passes by so quickly.

“At Bray, Eddie Gormley would always tell us that your time in football comes by so quickly and don’t take it for granted

“As I got older, all those little sayings from managers down the years came flooding back and started to make sense.

“You can’t get your football career back once it’s finished so you have to cherish it, but I’m not finished yet.”