MICHAEL Duff believes Graham Alexander still has the drive to continue playing for some time yet as Burnley’s club captain prepares to make his 1,000th career appearance today.

Alexander will hope to reach the millennium mark when the Clarets take on fourth-placed Swansea City this afternoon, needing victory to keep any remaining play-off hopes alive.

The 39-year-old was an unused substitute in Tuesday’s 2-0 loss at Notting-ham Forest but is due to become only the second outfield player in English football to reach the mark, following in the footsteps of Tony Ford.

Alexander has not started a game since mid-January but Duff, who has played alongside the veteran at Burnley for the past four seasons, knows his team-mate still retains the determination to play on for as long as possible.

“It's hurting him,” said Duff of Alexander’s recent absence from the starting line-up.

“I don't think he would begrudge anyone, but he wants to be in the team. He wants to play football.

“I've said before when I've not been in the team, you train every day to play on a Saturday.

“Grez will want to play but he's also experienced enough to know that when he can't play he's a big influence in the dressing room as well because of his knowledge and experience. Younger players look up to him.

“Sometimes I think I've played a few games because I played quite a few in non-league and I think I'm about 400 behind him! It's incomprehensible.

“But it's not just the games, he doesn't miss a day's training.

“Sometimes you get older players who don't train Mondays or Thursdays because they just go for a massage or something.

“Grez trains every single day. It's very rare that he misses a game.

“He'll probably get bored of people telling him in the next three or four weeks what a good pro he is, but he is. You don't achieve what he has without being that.

“But not only that he's a great lad as well. He's a good mate of mine and I wish him all the best in the rest of his career.

“Grez won't want to get 1,000 games – he'll want to get 1,050 then he'll want to get 1,100, because that's the way he is.

“He's a driven person.”

Burnley sit 12th in the Championship table with six matches remaining - seven points behind the play-off places with a game in hand at home to Middlesbrough on Tuesday.

And Duff knows Alexander well enough to be sure that the veteran will regard today’s game as important for the team rather than himself.

“Grezza's wanted us to do well whether he's been in the team or not because he's a big influence inside the dressing room,” said the defender.

“It's a cliché but we've got to take every game as it comes. We've just got to look to try to win the next six games. It's not in our hands anymore.

“If we win six games and we don't get in the play-offs, it's all we could have done.

“If we win six games and we get in the play-offs then great.”

Duff has returned to the Burnley line-up for the last two games and, like Alexander, the 32-year-old is keen to play on for as long as possible.

“I'm going to play as long as I can,” he said.

“Touch wood I've been pretty injury free bar one. I'll play as long as my legs let me.

“Someone else might have to tell me that before I do, but if that's the case I'll deal with that and cross the bridge about what I do next afterwards.”