Striker Archie Thompson is determined to celebrate a new three-year deal to remain with Melbourne Victory by making his return from an eight-month injury layoff against Gold Coast on Saturday.
The 32-year-old said he hopes that his new contract announced on Thursday will not be his last.
“I’ve still got a few good years left after that and if I do everything right I can see myself playing on,” Thompson said.
“I’ve been here since day one and I just want to keep winning things and I know this is the club to do it.”
“This has always been the place where I wanted to stay.”
Thompson, who has been sidelined since rupturing an anterior cruciate ligament in last season’s Hyundai A-League grand final, has been in full training for the past month and is keen to play a role in Saturday’s match at Etihad Stadium.
“I’m feeling good and I’ve been training well the last few weeks,” he said.
“I’ll see how I pull up after the training session today but I would like to think that I’d be a part of the squad.”
“I’m keen to get out there, whether it be this week or next week.”
Coach Ernie Merrick said Thompson’s training form has been impeccable.
“The medical staff are all really keen to get him out there and he’s probably been our top goalscorer at training for the last three or four weeks as well,” said Merrick.
“He’s keen, but I’m the one holding him back at the moment and I won’t make a decision until tomorrow.”
Thompson said his recovery from an injury that can sideline footballers for up to 12 months had been faultless.
“The specialists seem to think that after six months you get back on the pitch and train really hard,” he said.
“If nothing goes wrong and the knee’s fine and the rehab’s fine you should be alright to play by at least seven months.”
“It’s almost been eight months for me and I feel great.”
“I’m confident that I can go out there and not worry about the knee.”
Meanwhile Merrick confirmed the club had spoken to former Victory striker Danny Allsopp who is apparently keen to take a break from the game after being released by his MLS club, DC United.
“We certainly haven’t moved down the path of re-signing Danny, that’s all been media speculation,” Merrick said.
“He would certainly be a great player to re-sign but we’ve got the squad that we need right now.”
