DAN Parslow has admitted he is considering hanging up his boots following his release from York City.

Despite finally showing slow signs of recovery from the severe concussion that sidelined him for the final three months of the season, the 33-year-old defender has insisted he will be taking no gambles, health wise, as he plots his next career move.

But, should he draw the curtains on 13 years as a first-team professional, Parslow is hoping to stay in the game in a sports science capacity and he told The Press: “There’s a very real possibility that I won’t play again and, if that’s the case, I’ve been fortunate to play just under 500 games.

“Before I had the injury, I still felt fit but, if I don’t make a full recovery, I won’t be taking any risks whatsoever. I’ve had a lot of time to think recently and I’m ready for the next exciting opportunity, although I genuinely don’t know what I’ll be doing at this point.

“I’d love to stay in the sport, and I’ve got my sport science degree, so I feel I have so much to offer. I’d never say never in terms of playing, but my family are concerned for my welfare.

“They also understand that I’ve been in football since the age of 16, so it would be a huge decision to stop playing and not one that I’d take lightly. But I’m 34 in September and, if I did decide to call it a day, I feel I could look back at what I’ve achieved in the game with pride.”

Parslow broke into the top-ten list for all-time City appearances last term and is the only man to have lifted the Billy Fenton Clubman of the Year Memorial Trophy on three separate occasions.

He was also a member of the 2012 squad that clinched promotion back to the Football League following a historic Wembley double, before being named Cheltenham Town’s Players’ Player of the Year after helping the Gloucestershire club win the Conference title four years later.

Should he now hang up his boots, however, he is all but ruling out a move into management, adding: “I did my first coaching badge years ago, but it’s not a route I’ve gone down since.”

Having been impressed with Steve Watson since his arrival at Bootham Crescent, though, Parslow is optimistic that the former Newcastle and Everton defender can be the man to get City moving back in the right direction again following back-to-back, mid-table campaigns in National League North.

“He knows what he wants and, if he gets that, I think he will succeed,” Parslow declared. “He’s played at the highest level and that can only help.

“He’s now working at a completely different level, but he knows the game and what’s needed. It will be the same story in terms of the expectation to do well and that can weigh heavy on some managers and players at this level, so I think a good start will be critical but, if York can do that, I think they could be away.

“The new stadium should then give the club a big lift and the gaffer will try and use that to his advantage.”