Billy Sharp has said he intends to pursue a career in coaching and management following his retirement from playing, with the Sheffield United legend already holding an LMA football management diploma and a set of coaching badges accumulated over more than a decade.

"I've had a plan for 10 to 12 years where I was getting my coaching badges and done my LMA football management diploma," Sharp told BBC Radio 5 Live's 72+ podcast. "Coaching is something that I do want to get my hands tied into and the end goal would be to hopefully be a manager."

Sharp, who turned 40 this year, announced his retirement from playing earlier this month after finishing his career with a hat-trick for Doncaster Rovers at Peterborough in May. That farewell flourish took his total to 299 goals in all competitions across a career spanning all four professional divisions, a stint with MLS side LA Galaxy and six promotions in English football.

A record that belongs to the second tier

The number that will define Sharp's legacy in the Championship specifically is 130. Since the second tier took its current name in 2004, no player has scored more goals at that level. He amassed the bulk of those during his time with Sheffield United, scoring 109 goals in 282 league appearances across three spells at Bramall Lane, the most significant of which ran from 2016 to 2023 and brought three promotions with the Blades.

Those are not press-release figures. They represent a sustained, workmanlike output at a level where most strikers peak and fade inside five or six seasons. Sharp did it across nearly two decades.

A near-miss with Wilder's staff

Sharp also revealed, in a separate interview with BBC Radio Sheffield last week, that he had been approached about joining Chris Wilder's coaching staff at Sheffield United last season while he was still a registered player at Doncaster Rovers. That move was blocked at the time, though Sharp did not elaborate on the precise circumstances.

Whether a formal connection with United forms part of his next steps remains to be seen. For now, he says he is enjoying time with his family and working as a pundit, which he believes is sharpening his understanding of the game from the outside.

"I'm quite enjoying my time off with family and the punditry side of things which I think is helping me watch a lot of football and meeting new people and seeing a lot of people I know," he said. "To be in football still is something I'm very passionate about."

What made him a 'bagsman'

Sharp was characteristically straightforward when asked to explain his longevity as a goalscorer. "There's staying calm, there's wanting to get hurt to get on the end of something, there's individual parts that people don't see like visualising things and watching clips," he said. "I know my limitations, I know I've not had the speed or the skill but I've had a knack of being in the right place at the right time."

That self-awareness is, if anything, underselling it. Sharp scored his first Football League goal on loan at Rushden and Diamonds in February 2005. Twenty years of consistent accumulation followed. The Championship record now sits in the books, and the man who set it is already working on what comes next.

Sheffield United, currently back in the Championship under Wilder, have retained an obvious connection to a player who scored more goals for the club than almost anyone in its modern history. Whether Sharp's ambitions eventually bring him back to South Yorkshire in a coaching capacity is a question supporters will be watching with considerable interest.

Frequently asked

How many Championship goals did Billy Sharp score?
Sharp scored 130 goals in the Championship, making him the division's all-time leading scorer since it was rebranded in 2004.
How many goals did Billy Sharp score for Sheffield United?
Sharp scored 109 goals in 282 league appearances for Sheffield United, spread across three separate spells at Bramall Lane.
Is Billy Sharp going into management?
Sharp has said he wants to move into coaching and that his long-term goal is to become a manager. He has already completed his LMA football management diploma and coaching badges.