GRAHAM Alexander has revealed he sought the advice of ex-Claret David Unsworth before accepting a player-coach role.

Unsworth was offered a similar position under Owen Coyle when his Turf Moor contract expired in 2008 but turned it down to concentrate solely on his playing career.

But after being out of work for several months when he announced his retirement in March last year, Unsworth advised his friend and former team-mate to jump at the opportunity offered by Laws.

“I spoke to Unsy and a lad at Exeter who’s a good mate of mine, Rob Edwards, who does the same job. They both told me to go for it because they’re both similar minded to me,” Alexander explained.

“Unsy said ‘get your foot in the door and get on the ladder while you’re playing because it’s harder once you go away from football to get back in’.”

Although 38, making him the Premier League’s oldest outfield player, Alexander feels he has plenty more left in the tank.

“Even though in my own head I was pushing it back, it’s probably right for this sort of role at this time of my career,” he said.

“I’ve got to stress it’s not taking anything away from me playing because that’s the most important thing to me.

"I want to play as many games as possible. I explained that to the manager and he totally supported me in that.”