Veteran Liverpool defender Becky Easton says she is not ready to retire from football, despite recently turning 41.
The right-back insists that as long as she is getting picked, she wants to continue playing for as long as possible.
“I think I might have a year or two left in me hopefully,” said Easton, who has played 44 times for England.
“If I spent a year on the bench not being involved, that might make up my mind for me.”
“But as long as I can still mix it with these youngsters, I’ll keep going.”
Easton, who recently gave up her full-time job as a podiatrist with the NHS to train full-time with Liverpool, says being able to concentrate solely on football has helped to extend her career.
She continued: “We now train everyday, I’ve got better medical and sports science staff and it’s a bit easier now because my body has everything it needs.”
Easton has 20 years experience of playing top-flight football, including winning consecutive Women’s Super League titles with current champions Liverpool.
She previously captained Doncaster Rovers Belles in between spells at Everton and played for England at the 1995 World Cup in Sweden.
Becky Easton has won two WSL titles with Liverpool Ladies
After starting four of Liverpool’s opening five matches this season, Easton puts her longevity down to simply taking care of herself.
“With my diet I do everything properly,” she said. “I do the cool downs properly, I do the ice-baths, take the protein, I do everything that we’re told to do.
“I don’t drink a lot, I don’t smoke, I don’t go out very much so I just tend to be sensible.”
While the defender insists that the time to retire is “definitely not yet”, she has started thinking about life after her playing career ends by enrolling on a master’s degree in sports directorship.
So could swapping the boot room for the boardroom be on the cards?
“I don’t have any concrete plans like becoming a director of football anywhere in particular,” said Easton. “I just wanted to advance my skills and knowledge and gain a qualification as well.
“Everyone kept saying to me ‘you should be a coach or manage a team’ and that’s not for me and never has been.”
Other sports names on the course include Lancashire cricket director and head coach Ashley Giles and former Manchester United and Everton assistant manager Steve Round.
“I was a bit apprehensive at first but they’re all very professional and they’ve been great,” said Easton, the only female on the course. “I’m proud to be representing women and women’s football.
“I’d like to take a leadership role up somewhere because I think I’ve got the right attributes for that.
“I’d like it to be women’s football, because although we’ve developed so far over the years, I still think there’s quite a way to go and I’d like to be part of that development.”
bbc.co.uk