91Èȱ¬

Leon Britton has turned down the offer of a place on new Swansea City manager Carlos Carvalhal's coaching staff to concentrate on playing.

The 35-year-old was in caretaker charge for the matches against Crystal Palace and Liverpool.

Carvalhal has appointed Joao Mario and Bruno Lage coaches and Jhony Conceicao and Paulo Sampaio join as analysts.

"They left the decision down to me, and I had to decide whether I wanted to be a coach or a player," said Britton.

"I thought long and hard about it and while I enjoyed the coaching experience and learnt a lot in a short space of time, I still feel I can have a positive impact on the pitch as a player.

"I think that will be more beneficial to the club at this stage of the season.

"I am not ready to retire as a player yet, so I will review things again at the end of the season."

Long-serving Britton joined the coaching set-up under Paul Clement and took the reigns after the former Derby boss' dismissal in the week before Christmas.

He faces a week of rehab following a calf injury and is expected to rejoin training after the FA Cup tie at Wolves on 6 January.

Mario, 51, is a former midfielder who worked with Carvalhal at clubs in Portugal, Greece, Turkey and Dubai. Lage was with Carvalhal at Sheffield Wednesday.