STALWART Simon Francis feels it is unlikely he will retire at the end of his current deal – and is targeting a decade of service with Cherries.

The experienced defender in May signed a contract extension tying him to the Dorset club until at least 2020, by which time he will be 35.

Captain Francis has featured in three of Cherries’ four Premier League games this season – twice from the bench – and played 90 minutes in the 2-0 defeat at Chelsea last time out.

And the former Sheffield United ace, who joined Cherries on loan in November 2011 before signing permanently, says he does not have any retirement plans in place.

Francis told the Daily Echo: “I certainly haven’t put a ceiling on it yet.

“I’ve been very fortunate to not pick up any long-term injuries while I’ve been at Bournemouth, so I feel as fit as ever and feel I can still offer a lot to the club.

“I know 35 is an age at which a lot of players retire but I don’t see me doing that at all.

“I think if you spoke to a lot of the lads, they would be surprised if I retired then. I keep myself in very good shape and work hard every off-season.

“I will have to assess it in two years’ time. Maybe ask me again then and it might be different but I don’t know.

“I would love to try to get to a testimonial year and then next two would take me to nine. To get to 10 years would be a massive achievement so that is a target for me at the moment.”

When the day does arrive to hang up his boots, Francis could take a path into coaching.

The Nottingham-born ace has his own academy which runs sessions in Bournemouth, Poole and the surrounding area and is hoping to complete the UEFA A Licence.

Francis said: “I’m really keen on coaching at the moment. We have got the academy going and I get down to that as much as I can.

“I think I will be doing my A Licence over the next year or two. You have to have options when you come to the end of your career because there are so many players who finish and the next day they think: ‘what am I going to do now?’.

“I don’t want to be in that position. I want to have options and have experience of doing other things and be able to go into some kind of work.

“If that’s being involved in the club in whatever capacity, that would be the ultimate dream.

“You see a lot of the ex-players around the club, still coaching and in the academy, and Fletch and Purchy have played a big role in the first team.

“I would love to go down that kind of road. I think there is always going to be room for ex-players. The manager has been great on that side of things but whatever happens, happens.”