BLACKBURN defender Craig Short today said he wants to carry on playing in the Premiership for another season.

Short's current contract with Rovers is due to expire in the summer but manager Graeme Souness has already hinted he wants to offer the 35-year-old another year.

And Short has revealed he would be happy to prolong his Premiership odyssey by signing an extension which would see him finish his career at Ewood.

"The boss hasn't said anything as yet and I didn't expect him to," said Short.

"Maybe it was a flippant remark after a good performance at Birmingham.

"But for me, personally, this year was a bonus. I always intended to play until I was 37 and this takes me to 36 so, whatever happens, I hope to play on for another year and it's up to the club now.

"I've had my injuries problems so they are going to be wary of that.

"But I want to stay here and I think everyone knows that, which is why they'll probably wait as long as they can."

Technically speaking, Short is free to start talking to other clubs from the January 1 but the veteran stopper would prefer to stay at the club where he has enjoyed the most successful spell of his career.

"If it carries on and I feel as though I'm still playing well then I can speak to other people.

"But I don't want to do that. My family are settled, I love it here, and I'd like to stay."

"Ideally, I'd like to know the sooner the better. I feel as though I've got another year left in me.

"It would be nice if I got to know 'yes' or 'no' by February then I could start making plans for the summer."

Short has certainly underlined his value to Rovers since he came back from a knee injury last month.

His return co-incided with the club's first back-to-back wins and Brad Friedel first two clean sheets.

And his partnership with Andy Todd has been one of the plus points of an otherwise tricky period for Rovers.

"I said after the Birmingham game that I thought Andy Todd and Barry Ferguson had been our most consistent players during recent weeks," said Short.

"He's really slotted in and made that place his own.

"He's got a mentality where he just keeps going. It doesn't matter how difficult things get, he just keeps battling on.

"He's a quiet lad but he's very strong mentality. Hopefully, we are both a bit like that and we can help the team win more games than we lose."