I’m feeling so good at 37 that 500 games are well within my reach

SAYS KEITH LASLEY

THE candle count on the cake may have made for easy pickings for the would-be comedians within the Fir Park dressing room last week.

For Keith Lasley, though, being the subject of the odd harmless joke is a welcome price to pay for the wisdom and opportunity on tap when your career is still going strong after your 37th birthday.

An apprentice electrician when he first walked through the doors of Motherwell as a teenager, the midfielder’s appreciation of working in the real world has always afforded him a keen sense of perspective during the peaks and troughs that inevitably come your way.

Fit and available for selection for the visit of Hearts tonight, Lasley retains the same youthful enthusiasm for the game as many half his age. With 463 appearances in claret and amber to his name, continuing to lace up the boots after almost two decades isn’t only done out of sheer habit and because no one has yet told him to stop.

In the post-war years, only Stevie Hammell has burst through the 500 games mark for Motherwell. For Lasley, also reaching that magical figure is now all-consuming.

‘Not too many manage that,’ he said. ‘Stevie Hammell is already up there with the post-war record. But why not?

‘You can only go with the way you feel and the way I feel just now, I don’t see any reason why not.

‘Anything can happen in football in terms of injuries or a change of manager — although I don’t think that’s on the horizon here any time soon.

‘But the point I’m trying to make is you know how quickly things can change in football. I don’t want to count any chickens but the way I’m feeling just now, I think it’s a possibility.’

You suspect that wild horses will be unable to drag him out of the running until a truly remarkable milestone has been passed. Any player of Lasley’s age who is even able to contemplate such a feat generally owes much to injury and good fortune.

In his case, however, it’s the will to continually put mind over matter that’s key.

‘It’s another year older but it makes you appreciate you’ve still got the chance to get out there. It still feels brilliant,’ he added.

‘I do feel as good as I’ve ever done. I can see why some people might think I’m just saying that but I do look after myself.

‘If you ask most senior players that are about now, most of them will tell you the same. I probably eat as well as I’ve ever done. I do more work in the gym than I have ever done. I’ve got a good structure.

‘Andy Boles, who is the fitness and sports science guy, looks after all the lads but especially the older ones in terms of programmes.

‘All the stuff is there for you now if you are willing to put in the work. There’s no reason why you can’t play on until this age.

‘It grows on you as you get older — what you need to do.

‘It does come down to diet and sacrifice here and there when the biscuits come out.

‘That’s what you need to do if you want to compete at a good level.

‘Everyone knows how quick and demanding the Scottish game is, so you need to do it if you want to keep going, which I definitely do.’

Hearts are no one’s idea of shrinking violets. At the end of a working week, though, with the TV cameras present, Lasley could think of nothing better than to go in search of the three points that would lift his side to second in the Premiership table.

‘A game under the lights here, on a good pitch with a good atmosphere — it means more to me now being involved in a game like this,’ he admitted.

‘We’ve also had a good start and we have the chance to go second and, honestly, I wish the game was just now.

‘You just want to get out there and it helps when you are playing in a team that can compete in the right area of the league. It keeps me going because I wanted to be part of it.’

Lasley’s a proud, consummate professional but he is in no denial as to the advancing years. These days, rest is as vital a part of his routine as anything done on the training field.

Typically, though, even many of those moments when he steps down a gear are spent for the betterment of the club.

‘I’m doing a little bit of coaching now at the club by helping with the Under-20s,’ he explained. ‘I probably use that as my time to have a little bit of extra recovery. Sometimes at the start of the week, I’ll help Craggs (Steven Craigan) a little bit and use that as an extra recovery day.

‘But, on the whole, I want to keep training as much as I can and as much as my team-mates because if you get into that mind-set, that you can’t train as much as the other guys, it takes you further down the road to not being quite there.

‘I want to do everything — even the harder stuff like the running.’