"The fact of the matter is that we want to keep him and in fact he wants to stay longer than the contract we have offered him at the moment.
"Mark wants to play all the way through to the next World Cup. He believes he can do it and I believe it as well.
"But at the moment nothing has been signed and Mark wants to leave it a bit longer and concentrate on his football.
"He is a fantastic professional and there is no questioning his commitment to the club.
"In fact he has already played in games when he has been carrying injuries which on other occasions would have ruled him out.
"Mark's contract situation is still one that I would like to resolve and it will come under consideration again later in the season."
