VETERAN defender Craig Short has been ordered to scale down his training routine in a bid to prolong his Blackburn career.

Over the last couple of years, the 34-year-old former Everton man has become increasingly susceptible to injuries - the majority of which have been sustained on the training ground.

So manager Graeme Souness and his backroom staff have now come to the conclusion that prevention is better than cure and told the defensive strongman to start taking things easier in an attempt to get more games out of him over the course of the season.

"The coaching staff had a word with me about it after I got injured again in training recently," said Short.

"The two most recent injuries I've had were to my back and my calf and I did both of them when I was really going for it in training.

"So, as soon as the last one happened, Phil Boersma and Tony Parkes both came straight over to me and said I've got to start being more careful and the boss has said something similar.

"I've got to start being sensible and take things easier because I'm not 23 anymore.

"At the end of the day, I'm no use to them if I train hard all week but then I'm not available when it comes to matchday."

Under the new plan, Short will spend more hours in the gym during the early part of the week as opposed to time on the training ground.

But, when the rest of the squad start to step up their preparations during the two days immediately prior to a game, he will then join in with the rest of the group as usual in the hope that it will prolong his career as it did for people like Paul McGrath and Dave Watson.

"It's not going to be a massive change, it's more a case of scaling things down a bit," said Short, who's back in contention for Saturday's game against Newcastle after recovering from a torn calf.

"I've always been against taking things easy in the past because I don't want to miss out.

"I enjoy training far more than going in the gym but, if it's for my own benefit, then that's what I'll have to do."

Short has every reason to take heed of the advice as he has now entered the final year of his contract and he is desperate to prove he should be offered a new one.

He does have the option of extending his present deal by a year, providing he appears in a set number of Premiership games.

But, ideally, he would like to stay on for another two seasons if possible and for that to happen he knows he must stay fit.

"I'd like to play on for this season and two more, if possible," said Short.

"As far as I'm concerned, playing at centre half is the least demanding position on the pitch because it's not physically as hard as playing at full-back or in midfield.

"That's why I find training more demanding, because a lot of the time we are playing possessional football where you've got to keep closing people down.

"But I still think I can play on until I'm 36 and I'd love to end my career here.

"I'm happy at Rovers, I'm at a Premiership club with great facilities, and I'm surrounded by good young players, so why would I want to go anywhere else?

"I certainly don't see myself saying 'that's it' in nine months' time because I've enjoyed the last two or three years far too much. They've been the best years of my career."