He may be in his 37th year, but there are few players outside the top flight who can match the recent goalscoring record of Dean Windass. Last season, the former Middlesborough frontman bagged 28 goals for Bradford and he has started the current campaign in equally impressive fashion, scoring four goals in his first four games. Mark Shail caught up with Windass and the evergreen striker revealed to Givemefootball about his plans to continue playing until he is 40…
Q:YOU MUST BE PLEASED WITH YOUR START TO THE NEW SEASON?
A:From a personal point of view it has started really well, although I would be happier if we had taken a couple more points from our first few games. We had a good win against MK Dons and drew with Rotherham last week, but we should have taken all three points against Southend. But its still early days and there's a long way to go.
Q:WAS LAST SEASON'S GOAL HAUL THE BEST TALLY OF YOUR CAREER?
A:Yes it was, although I did once score 24 goals when I was at Hull. Some people had been questioning whether I'd ever be able to match those 24 goals again so it's nice to have done it at this stage of my career.
Q:IS IT POSSIBLE THAT YOU ARE STILL IMPROVING AT THE AGE OF 36?
A:I don't know, Colin Todd always says that age is just a number and I don't feel any different now as I did when I was 26. Teddy Sheringham is still playing Premiership football at the age of 39 and Dennis Wise is still doing the business for Southampton at a similar age, so I'll just carry on playing for as long as I can.
Q:REALISTICALLY THOUGH, HOW LONG WOULD YOU LIKE TO CARRY ON PLAYING?
A:I spoke to Stuart McCall recently and we both said there is no reason why you can't play for as long as you want providing you are still enjoying the training and the playing. I've worked on a building site and in a factory and I don't want to go back there again, so I'll keep going for as long as I can. Colin (Todd) is always telling me to get my rest but I love training and even when I'm not at the training ground I'm going out on my own for a run. If I can stay injury free, I don't see any reason why I can't continue playing until I'm 40.
Q:DO YOU THINK PLAYERS ARE GENERALLY PLAYING FOR LONGER THESE DAYS?
A:Most definitely. There is now much more of a focus on living your life the right way and being more disciplined in your approach to the game. We now have dieticians and fitness coaches to help players, and they were never around ten or 15 years ago.
Q:WOULD YOU LIKE TO MOVE INTO COACHING WHEN YOU EVENTUALLY HANG UP YOUR BOOTS?
A:That's the plan. I've got my UEFA 'B' licence, which allows me to coach any side outside the Premiership, and I'm will looking to get myself on an 'A' licence course once the playing schedule eases a little bit. Eventually I would like to have a crack at management,
