Nicky Southall will be registering himself in this season’s squad but admits this could be his final year as a player.

The 39-year-old (pictured) was given the role of player-coach last season and a mixture of off-field responsibilities and injury restricted him to just one appearance during the previous campaign.

Southall, who made his league debut for the Gills in December 1997, has now clocked up 374 appearance for the club and is 10th in the all-time charts.

He admits, though, that he must hang up his boots soon.

"I am still going to be registered as a player/coach again but it will probably be my final season," he said.

"I always said I would like to retire in my 40th year so who knows?

"I might force my way back into the team but this is my new occupation as a coach now.

"The coaching part is now my main focal point and we will see if we can go one better than last season."

Southall received an injection in a knee injury he picked up last season, which kept him out of the reckoning for much of the campaign, and admits he will still only be used as emergency cover.

"I will be there if I am needed, if we have a real bad spate of injuries, which hopefully we don’t," he said.

"If we are flying away at the top of the table then I won’t be getting a look-in but it’s a long season and you don’t know what is going to happen with injuries and suspensions so it is always worth registering as a player just incase you need to turn out.

"I would love to be looking forward to playing but I’ve had a fantastic career and I need to be looking at the coaching side of things now and I am excited by that."

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