Aston Villa keeper Friedel wants to play for as long as possible

Aston Villa goalkeeper Brad Friedel says he intends to carry on playing for as long as he can.

Now 39, the former Liverpool and Blackburn Rovers keeper wants to set a record for being the Premiership's oldest ever player.

Friedel said: “I feel fantastic physically. Age is no issue at all and the experience helps.

“I feel physically the same way as I did when I was 25. Every time you get a year older, people want to talk about you being in this kind of form or that kind of form and think it has to do with age.

"There are many keepers around who would say the same thing, such as David James, Edwin van der Sar and Mark Schwarzer.

“Goalkeeping is such a mental position.

"You go through periods of time where you aren’t actually in the game. “So you have to be mentally strong. You also have to be mentally strong when you make a mistake because, generally, the mistake a keeper makes leads to a goal.”

 
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