Oxford United captain John Mousinho insists he is hopeful of remaining at the club next season, despite being out of contract at the end of the month.
The 34-year-old, who joined the U’s in 2017, was hoping to make a move into coaching this season but has ended up playing 33 times.
That said, he has been involved with some backroom activities, and although he hopes to become a coach permanently, he still feels he can do a job on the pitch.
He told the Oxford Mail: “I’m out of contract in a couple of weeks, but it doesn’t feel like it because of how the club have been.
“Because I had expressed my interest to stay at Oxford, not just for next year but the long-term future as well and the club have reciprocated that, we haven’t been in any rush to sort anything out.
“I’m not going to go and sign for another club unless there’s nothing here.
“I’ve signalled my intentions to the club that I love it here and I feel like we’ve had a lot of success this season, so I really want to sort something out.”
He added: “I think now we’ve got some clarity on the fact the games are going to be played we can accelerate things pretty quickly. We’ve pretty much had the discussions anyway.”
On the pitch, Mousinho has made 120 appearances for the U’s since his arrival from Burton Albion. And this season, the skipper has been ever-present despite the summer arrival of Elliott Moore.
He added: “I feel great physically and I’ve certainly had my best season for Oxford, I don’t think any fans would disagree with me on that.”
“I feel certainly for another year I can continue playing.”
And it’s the off-the-field areas where Mousinho is relishing the opportunity. Having already taken part in training sessions and played a part on the sidelines in cup games when not in action, he is thankful to manager Karl Robinson for helping guide him.
He said: “I’m lucky where the manager really involves me in a lot of the things to do with the non-playing side.
“I have a passion for it and really enjoy taking on those roles and seeing what influence I can have as a player-coach.
“I go into the office sometimes and have a chat with the manager. I say ‘this is the way I’d do it if I was in charge’.
“He then says ‘have you thought about the repercussions of that? Have you thought how it would look with the other players or the board?’
“It’s a great learning curve for me, so by the time I do become a coach or a manager I’ve got a balanced view of everything.”
