PETER CLARKE today confirmed he hopes to play for and captain Huddersfield Town for several seasons to come.
The rugged and respected centre-back is now 31, but he’s had the ideal summer break and says he is champing at the bit for pre-season on Thursday.
Town’s promotion-winning skipper is excited by the Championship opener at Nottingham Forest on Saturday, August 3, and the home games which follow against Bradford City in the Capital One Cup and QPR in the league, and his target is to play a full part in boss Mark Robins’ first complete season at the helm.
Click here to view a full Huddersfield Town fixture list for season 2013/14
“I want to play for as long as possible and I feel in good shape, so I can’t wait to get back in for pre-season training,” said Clarke. “At the end of last season I was tired and was carrying a few aches and pains, but after a couple of weeks away with the family, which was brilliant, I’ve been out on the bike, out doing some running and also keeping myself going in the gym.
“To be fair, I feel as good as always and, as I have always said, I consider it an absolute honour to be captain of a club like Huddersfield Town, with such a proud history and tradition. I thoroughly enjoy being the skipper and, hopefully, I can continue to do the job for a good while yet.”
Former Everton, Blackpool and Southend defender Clarke believes Town’s new-look squad will prosper from a full pre-season under Robins , which will include a training camp in Spain, and hit the ground running come August.
“I’m sure a full build-up with the manager and his coaching staff will benefit us no end,” he explained.
“The boss will be able to put his thoughts and beliefs across and really drill them into the lads. He was denied that opportunity, really, last season because of the busy schedule he inherited, so he’ll be able to make full use of the time on the training pitch this time.”
