Keith Lasley has targeted a milestone 500th appearance for Motherwell, and he has cut down on the poppadoms to ensure that he makes it.
The club captain will emerge from the tunnel tonight for the 464th time as a Motherwell player as they look to leapfrog opponents Hearts into second place in the table.
With his legendary status at Fir Park already secure, and with his 37th birthday ticking past last week, he may be forgiven for looking to wind down his career.
That isn’t in Lasley’s make-up though, and he is more driven than ever to make the most of every match he plays on the way to the landmark 500th match for Motherwell.
“Not too many manage that,” Lasley said. “Stevie Hammell is already up there with the post-war record. But why not?
“You can only go with the way you feel and the way I feel just now I don’t see any reason why not.
“Anything can happen in football in terms of injuries or a change of manager – although I don’t think that’s on the horizon here any time soon.
“I don’t want to count any chickens but the way I’m feeling just now I think it’s a possibility.
“I still like my Chinese and Indians, but I just have one poppadom now instead of 10! That is the way it has to be, I just have to ration them.
“I still think there is a time and a place where you can still enjoy yourself. Do I go out every Saturday night? No, very rarely, so that certainly gets curbed. I am getting too old for it as well.
“I’m another year older but it makes you appreciate you’ve still got the chance to get out there. It still feels brilliant.
“I feel as good as I’ve ever done, although I can see why some people might think I’m just saying that!
“But I do look after myself. If you ask most senior players that are about now most of them will tell you the same.
“I probably eat as well as I’ve ever done, I do more work in the gym than I ever have done. I’ve got a good structure.
“Andy Boles who’s the fitness and sports science guy looks after all the lads but especially the older ones in terms of programmes.
“All the stuff is there for you now if you are willing to put in the work. There’s no reason why you can’t play on until this age.
“It grows on you as you get older – what you need to do. It does come down to diet and sacrifice here and there when the biscuits come out.
“That’s what you need to do if you want to compete at a good level.”
Although he isn’t looking to swap his boots for the pipe and slippers just yet, Lasley appreciates occasions like tonight’s match even more now as he approaches the twilight of his career.
He can’t wait to get out there and try to make a valuable contribution towards his aim of moving Motherwell as high up the table as possible.
“A game under the lights here, on a good pitch with a good atmosphere it means more to me now being involved in a game like this,” he said.
“We’ve also had a good start and we have the chance to go second and honestly I wish the game was just now.
“You just want to get out there and it helps when you are playing in a team that can compete in the right area of the league. It keeps me going because I wanted to be part of it.”
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