Gareth Barry may be just 21 appearances away from equaling Ryan Giggs' Premier League record, but the Everton midfielder has told Sky Sports he has no plans to hang up his boots just yet.

The 35 year old has 611 appearances in the top-flight during an 18-year career that has included spells with Aston Villa, Manchester City and, for the last three years, Everton.

"It can get tough to keep going, at times" he said.

"Mentally, you go through tough periods when the team aren't winning games, thinking: 'Should I still be playing here? Should I hang my boots up?' But no, I'll keep playing.

"I've spoken to a lot of my friends that have retired and even before that, older players, and the one thing they'll always say is 'play as long as you can'.

"You've got to go in with the same attitude from a young player, right the way through to the top because this game catches up with you if you drop your levels or you start doing something different, it comes and finds you out.

"You know your role is going to get less and less as you get to a certain age but you keep going and like I did from being a 17 year-old to how I am now, give 100 per cent in training, if the manager needs me, I'll go out there and try and do my job."