Lee Worgan chalked up his 200th consecutive league appearance for Maidstone on Tuesday night.

The Stones keeper is an example to everyone just a week shy of his 34th birthday.

He’s played every league game since Jay Saunders signed him from Tonbridge in the summer of 2013 and intends to go on for a good few years yet.

His ultimate ambition before retiring is to help Maidstone into the Football League.

Worgan was nursing a groin injury at Torquay a fortnight ago but simply doesn’t like missing matches.

He said: “The older you get and how enjoyable it is here, you just want to make sure you’re involved, make sure you’re always playing and I guess as soon as you get over the 100 barrier, the next one is 200.

“Fortunately I’ve managed to stay fit, Jay’s kept me in the team and here I am at another milestone.

“I think after about four years of playing consistently, I looked back and you think ‘well, I haven’t missed a league game’ and then you start totting it up in your head and you just think, ‘wow, it would be a brilliant achievement for myself and a good testament to how I’ve played here to get to 200 games.’

“I try to keep myself as fit as I can, I do the right things, eat the right foods and I guess as you get older, each game’s a blessing so you want to play as many as you can and so you do what you can to make sure you’re fit enough to play.”

The slightest knock may be enough to rule out Premier League stars but Worgan is one of those who doesn’t need to be fully fit to play.

He says the mental side is key when not feeling 100%.

Worgan said: “The way the game is at the moment, being a goalkeeper is a lot different.

“You don’t need to be as active, you don’t need to be as fit because you’re not covering as much ground as the outfield players, so it’s sort of a different fitness but I do think some players are quite quick to miss out because they’ve got a little tweak or they can feel their back or their groin.

“If I didn’t play every time I felt something then I’d probably never play at all. Sometimes it’s an easy way out but I think it’s about mentality.

“You’re either one of the players that’s got the mentality they want to be involved in every game or you’re not.

“Unfortunately some players have to feel 100% to be able to go out there and give their all, which is fine – you’d rather they be honest – but I want to play in every game I can.”

Worgan started his career in the Football League and would love to end up back there by the time he retires.

He said: “I’d love to get into the Football League with Maidstone.

“I’d love to be part of the group that takes the club into the level that I think it should be at.

“It’s a massive club, it’s got a great foundation, fantastic owners and undoubtedly one of the best managers in non-league if not lower-league football.”