Jason Sherlock has decided not to return to soccer but instead to concentrate on Gaelic Football - upsetting his club, Shamrock Rovers.

Rovers signed Sherlock from UCD two years ago for £25,000 and still has a year to run on his contract.

But he has decided to hang up his boots and work on what has become a successful Gaelic career, leaving manager Damien Richardson and chairman Joe Colwell less than happy.

Losing a player to another sport is always bad, but to lose him with a year left on his contract is disastrous.

"We paid a lot of money to sign Jason," said Colwell, "and we feel disappointed by the return. It was a gamble that we took and it didn't come off."

Richardson confirmed that Sherlock will never wear the hoops of Rovers again. He said: "His career with Shamrock Rovers is basically over. The demands to play in this League now are huge.

"We require our players to train four times a week and, outside of that time, the next requirement is for them to rest. If someone is playing another sport then there is no way that he can compete satisfactorily for our club."