Motivated McCormack has no plans to stop playing just yet as he targets new contract

Cobblers midfielder Alan McCormack already has plans to carry on playing for at least one more season after chalking up his 500th senior appearance earlier in the month.
Alan McCormackAlan McCormack
Alan McCormack

The Irishman, who turns 36 next month, signed for Northampton on a one-year deal in the summer following his release from Championship-bound Luton Town.

He missed the first two months of the season through injury but has been integral to Town's recent resurgence since returning to the side, helping them go from 18th place to promotion contenders.

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McCormack clearly still has the quality and motivation to cut it at this level - perhaps even higher - and he also feels his body can cope with the demands of professional football.

He's already eyeing a new contract once the current season ends, and given his form of late, Cobblers fans will be hoping he sticks around for another 12 months.

Speaking after his 500th appearance against Notts County recently, McCormack said: "Now I can think about the next milestone that I can set for myself and hopefully achieve.

"They'll just be personal little things that will bring everything down into a short period and I'll look at blocks during the year and when we get to the end of the season, if I've played well, I'll look to play again next year.

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"I'll look to get a contract somewhere next season and keep playing. Until I lose the motivation and until I lose the feeling that I don't think my body can handle the young boys, that's when I'll think about it.

"But until that point comes, I still feel fresh every day and I feel good. I'm a bit older than most of the boys here but the great thing about playing with younger lads is that they keep you feeling young.

"I'm a big believer in age only being a number and if you feel young, you're going to play young."

McCormack doesn't boast the cleanest of disciplinary records over the last couple of seasons but his manager, Keith Curle, accepts that's part of what makes him such a valuable asset.

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"Sometimes he needs to be mindful of his role because we don't want to lose him to a second booking or picking too many cautions," said Curle.

"But you can't tell Alan McCormack not to tackle because it's in his nature and he finds tackles, he looks for tackles and he wants tackles."