Blackpool boss Steve Bruce said returning to management has “given him a purpose to get out of bed in the morning”.
The 63-year-old was appointed as Neil Critchley’s successor at the League One club on a two-year deal last week.
He had been out of the game since being sacked by West Bromwich Albion in October 2022.
“Yeah, that’s the top and bottom of why I’m back in. I’ve missed it,” he told BBC Radio Lancashire.
“I wasn’t ready to retire and I still have, I believe, something to offer.
“What I’ve missed is the everyday enjoyment of working with players and being involved in football.
“It’s given me a purpose to get out of bed in the mornings and it’s proven to me that I wasn’t ready for retirement.”
The Bloomfield Road side are the 12th different team Bruce has taken charge of since starting his managerial career with Sheffield United in 1998.
He won only eight of his 32 games with the Baggies and admitted he had needed time away from the game after his exit.
“I realised I needed a break. I’ve never really had a proper break in 40-odd years. How lucky am I to have gone straight from playing to managing and do 1,000 games? It’s a lot of Saturdays,” he said.
“There was a time when I thought I’d done my stint but the enjoyment and the love of football has brought me back to work.
“You get to a certain age and you think, ‘Am I on the scrap-heap?’ But I hope I’ve got a lot to offer and I’ve got an abundance of experience.
“I’m delighted to have been given the opportunity to start again.”
Critchley’s predecessor was the vastly experienced former Sunderland and Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Mick McCarthy, but he left after less than three months in April 2023 with two wins from 14 games.
Bruce acknowledged that some fans may compare the two appointments and it is “up to him” to earn their trust.
“It didn’t quite happen for Mick and it didn’t quite happen for me at West Brom. Let’s hope this is better than my last appointment – I certainly do,” he said.
“There’s going to be sceptics out there and it’s up to me now to win them over, as I have done at other clubs and they’ve said, ‘This fella’s done us a decent job here’. That’s my aim.”
This will be the first time Bruce has managed in the third tier since his first stint with Wigan Athletic in 2001.
He said he would not have accepted the job if he did not think he was capable of being successful.
“These lads earn a decent living but they have to win on a Saturday to pay the mortgage, so there’s a certain honesty about them,” the former Birmingham City, Aston Villa and Newcastle United boss said.
“I’m here to try and help the players if I possibly can and try and succeed. I wouldn’t have taken it if I didn’t think we could succeed.
“It’s going to be difficult because there’s some big teams in this league but I’d like to think Blackpool are going to be amongst them.”
The Seasiders have had a tough start to the League One campaign and sacked Critchley last month after they lost their first two games.
Caretaker Richard Keogh then oversaw draws with Cambridge United and Wycombe Wanderers to leave them with two points from four matches.
Bruce, who has won four promotions to the Premier League in his time in management, is confident they have the quality to turn their season around.
“The aim is to go up. We finished eighth last year and missed out, so can we go one better? Can we get in the top six? We’ve had a difficult start but that’s why I’m here,” he said.
“I’ve seen the past two or three games and we could quite easily have won all of them.
“I’ve seen enough of the squad to know we can be competitive in this league, we’ve got some good players here and it’s up to me to get the best out of them.”
