Everton skipper Phil Neville prepared to drop down divisions

Everton skipper Phil Neville prepared to drop down divisions

The former England international is now 36 years of age and appreciates that his time at the top is coming to a close.

He has graced the Premier League with Manchester United and Everton and has collected 59 caps for his country.

Neville is now approaching a professional crossroads, as he is working on a one-year rolling contract at Goodison Park and will see his latest agreement expire at the end of the season.

He has already agreed to a coaching role with the England U21 side at this summer's European Championship, but maintains that it is his intention to play on at some level in 2013/14.

Neville told the Liverpool Echo: "For me, I want to continue playing as long as possible, so I'm not embarrassed to go down the leagues.

"I think you can still have as much fun playing in the lower leagues as you can in the Premier League.

"I think it'd be good for your experience to coach and manage down there, to go through the types of things that Edgar Davids is going through at the moment (at Barnet) because he's been used to the best things in life and now he's got to really coach.

"He won't have 20 balls, he'll probably have five or six, he won't have many cones, they'll be training on a park pitch where there's maybe dogs running across the training pitch and this is where he'll have to learn his trade again."