David Weir: The premier warhorse

David Weir is, he admits, "slightly different to most players", and having graduated with a degree in advertising and public relations before commencing a career that continues to prosper in the Premiership at the age of 35 he will not provoke an argument with that self-assessment. Where the Everton captain does not stand alone, however, is as a top flight professional facing a far from certain future in the game.

Less than 90 days remain on the Scotland international's contract at the club he joined for £200,000 from Heart of Midlothian in 1999 and whose subsequent contribution over the course of 259 games prompted former manager Walter Smith to describe the centre-half as the most astute purchase of his time at Goodison Park. Weir's Everton career almost came to an abrupt halt last summer when he was on the brink of leaving before the club improved the terms of a 12-month contract extension and yet, despite that wake-up call and his vast experience, this most considered of defenders has little idea of how the next phase in his life will unfold beyond, he hopes, another season on Merseyside.

"Everybody tells you to plan and the PFA are very good in providing educational programmes but unless you have a specific interest it is really difficult to prepare yourself for a life outside the game," admits the Falkirk-born defender. "You've got the best job in the world and then all of a sudden it's gone. I know a lot of people find that hard. These are still young men undergoing a big change in their lives, who are being told they are finished because they are too old. You have to get your mindset right to accept that it can be the start of your life rather than the end of your working career at the age of 35, 36.

"I feel good and want another contract here. I've played 44 games this year and feel about 25, but my mind is not tuned into what I'm going to do next. That could come back to haunt me but that is how I approach things. My time is taken up with football and my family. I've got a bit of property that I take an interest in but I've got three young kids and another on the way so that takes up the majority of my time."

Short-term, incentive-based contracts are on the rise at Premiership clubs who have begun to redress the balance of power that was taken away from them by the Bosman Ruling. "That is how I think it should be, but it is difficult," adds the Scot. Such deals prohibit extensive planning, although having received a Premiership wage for seven years and lived a lifestyle that underscores his longevity there is no immediate pressure on Weir's financial future.

"I went to university in America 15 years ago, although to be honest I went on a football scholarship and the degree was just a by-product. It is not going to help me now."

Weir's professional career has been spent exclusively at the highest level for club and country but, with that, has come greater responsibility and the pressure that prompted his decision to retire from international football in 2001, when he was singled out for criticism by then Scotland manager Berti Vogts following a draw in the Faroe Islands.

"There is more pressure at the highest level and as you get older you start to think about it more," reveals Weir, who reversed his decision once Smith took the Scotland job. "You start to think about things like the game being on television and the fact that your parents are watching. You realise that if you have a bad game it affects other people close to you too, such as your kids getting stick when they go into school on a Monday. That pressure builds and the higher you go up, the games mean more, not individually, but they mean more to more people. The media pressure grows too, you are constantly scrutinised, but that brings its own rewards. I took a bit of criticism playing for Scotland at one time and I accepted that as part of the job, but my mum and dad live in Scotland and it affected them, which was a big part of my decision to retire from international football for a while. I wasn't enjoying it enough to justify putting them through it."

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