GRAHAM Alexander has been labelled “a great man” and “a magnificent individual” as he prepares to make history tonight.

Should Burnley's club captain feature against Nottingham Forest in the crunch Championship clash at the City Ground, he will become only the second outfield player in English football to reach 1,000 appearances for club and country.

But far from this milestone marking the end of his career, which began with a Sherpa Van Trophy tie for Scunthorpe against Halifax in December 1988, team-mate Steven Thompson believes there is plenty more to come from the 39-year-old.

“We’re all aware he’s got one game to go and it’s an incredible achievement. I hope he gets all the plaudits for it because if anyone deserves it, it's him,” said the striker.

“To reach 1,000 games is incredible and to maintain consistency at a level he has played at for so long is remarkable.

“For a young player coming into football, you couldn’t get a better role-model. The scary thing is, he’s fitter than half of the squad. If you did a fitness test on the squad, assessing all types of fitness, I bet he’d be in the top 10.

“I know coaching and management is on the radar for him but I honestly believe he can play for another year or two.

“I believe he can play football at a good level if he wants to continue.

“The guy’s a machine. He looks after himself – he’s got the body of a 20-year-old. He’s a great man and a good friend and I've been lucky to have worked with him.”

While the players were planning something to mark the occasion, when it happens, in-house, Thompson revealed Alexander had kept low-key about the event.

“He’s not mentioned it at all. He hasn’t been chalking off the games and he wouldn’t do that. He’s not one to boast. He wouldn’t shove it in your face,” the Scot continued.

“He’s a magnificent individual. He’s very humble and just a fantastic guy to have around. Throughout his career maybe he’s not had the plaudits he should’ve had.

“There’s been a bit of banter it, all sorts of stuff. We’ll all be delighted and it would be nice to see him do it, hopefully tonight.”

And Thompson says it would be a fitting celebration to end their run of bad form at Forest, where they picked up their first league win in the 2008/09 promotion season after a poor start.

“That was my debut and Graham scored in that match,” said the former Cardiff and Rangers striker.

“We need to start somewhere. We need to start picking up points and hopefully it's (tonight).

“If we can string two or three wins together on the trot anything's possible.

“From one week to the next, there's no job like football for changing and ups and downs.

“We do need to nip this poor run in the bud quickly.”