'I WANT TO KEEP CLIMBING 'LEAGUE 'LADDER TOP TEN'

NEXT month marks two decades since Luke Chambers made his debut for Northampton – but he’s not got any interest in hanging up his boots yet.

- John Lyons

The 37-year-old has shown remarkable consistency and dedication in his time with the Cobblers, Nottingham Forest, Ipswich and, now, Colchester.

So much so in fact that he’s already joint eighth in the list of all-time league appearance makers, which includes Premier League and EFL games. After yesterday’s 1-0 win at Salford, he had notched up an incredible 788 games (and also chipped in with 37 goals).

England legend Peter Shilton tops the pile with 1,005 and Grimsby legend Tony Ford is second with 931, but Chambers isn’t a million miles away from third-placed Graham Alexander (833).

“I knew I was a fair way up on the list, but not quite as high as I am,” the defender told The FLP. “It’s my own personal aim now to get as high as I can. If I play next year, it could take me top three – it’s a little thing to focus on.

“I’ll just see what happens – if I finished tomorrow, it would still be beyond my wildest dreams. I’ve been very lucky in terms of injuries and I’ve played through injuries at times.”

Four teams in 20 years is also a low number given the amount of chopping and changing that routinely takes place these days.

“That’s probably why I’ve played so many games,” he said. “I haven’t been someone to leave, I’ve had the trust to continue being a servant to whatever club I’ve been at. At Ipswich, I reached the end of the road and the club went in a new direction.

“There are no fairytales in football but from where I’ve come from it’s my own fairytale.”