Gillingham defender Barry Fuller turned 34 on Tuesday but is showing no sign of slowing down.

Fuller admits he feels fitter than he did a decade ago and hanging up the boots is a long way off.

“I feel 24,” said the right-back, on his birthday.

“We will see how I feel after the end of the season but I feel fit, probably fitter than when I was at the club before.

“I look after myself, I feel fit and healthy and with no injuries that have kept me back for the last four or five seasons.”

Asked how he keeps in shape, Fuller said: “The older you get, you know your body, you look after your body a bit better.

“When you have family you probably don’t go out and socialise as much, stuff like that, you are on your toes with your kids but it is a bit different to having a party life like you might if you were a bit younger. You grow up and the more experience you get, you know you can’t do certain things.”

The next oldest player to Fuller is captain Gabriel Zakuani, two years his junior.

“I am like the granddad of the team,” Fuller joked.

“I haven’t got any plans or thoughts about retiring. I feel fit and like I can do a job for the team and when I am out on the pitch I will play as long as I can.

“Hopefully I have got another two or three seasons in me, if I look after myself. I have only signed a year here so we will see what happens but hopefully, you never know, it might be longer.”

Fuller is currently keeping Luke O’Neill out of the team, the regular in the right-back position last season.

“Luke is a great player,” said Fuller.

“He started the season and I just had to keep working hard in training and wait for my chance. My chance came and lucky enough I have stayed in the team for the last four games.

“I just have to keep working hard to keep the shirt because everyone wants it. It is good competition to have, with Luke about and whoever plays will respect the gaffer’s decision.”

The Gills are heading to Shrewsbury this weekend and it’s a decade since one of their less memorable visits, suffering a 7-0 defeat. Fuller was in the team that day.

“It was a crazy game,” the defender recalled. “I do still remember it, I think Garry Richards had gone down with a head injury and went off to get stitches and they scored three goals in the time he was off!

“Nobody likes to lose 7-0 and it affected us mentally for a little while but we got our revenge at the end of the season by winning the play-off final against them.

“If someone said to me, lose 7-0 on Saturday and go up by winning the play-offs at the end of the year, I would probably take that!”