The Holland goalkeeper, who is 37 tomorrow, has made no secret of
his wish to stay at Old Trafford and will begin negotiations in the
next few weeks.
Van der Sar is out of contract at the end of the season but
envisages his new deal will incorporate coaching.
He said: "I know I am turning 37, but I am as fit as ever. I also
feel that I want to pass on my experience to the younger players.
There is a fantastic atmosphere in this group of players and they
are eager to learn.
"I try to give more to the team than just my performance in goal. I
coach the boys, I pass on experience and talk to younger players.
Sir Alex Ferguson expects me to do that and the role suits me. At
Ajax, at Juventus and at Fulham I was always coaching and trying to
help other players. In training sessions and in matches I emphasise
my presence in a verbal way. Besides all that, I see a lot of
football situations occurring in front of me early because of my
experience after so many years."
Van der Sar, who will play the 500th league match of his career
against Arsenal next week, insists he has no desire to stop playing
just yet. "I always said that I would quit football at the age of
34," he said. "But I am not going to make any more statements about
that now. I feel I am physically as good as ever. And I don't
really feel 37 among all these young players at United.
"I love all the quality in the attacking part of the team. Giggs,
Saha, Rooney, Tevez, Ronaldo. They can all score bags of goals.
Because of injuries not every player has been able to get those
goals yet but as long as we have kept a clean sheet, we have been
able to get great results."
