Former Blues skipper Luke Chambers says his “unbelievable journey” isn’t over yet having made his 779th league appearance for current club Colchester in Saturday's 1-1 home draw with Barrow, taking him into English football’s top-10 league appearance-makers.
Chambers, 37, was with the Blues between the summers of 2012 and 2021, making 376 of those appearances for Town.
The centre-half, who has also represented Northampton and Nottingham Forest, looks set to move up to ninth in the next 10 days with former Wales international Robbie James only two games ahead of him and ex-Scotland midfielder Tommy Hutchison in fifth only 15 ahead of him. Peter Shilton heads the list on 1,005.
"When I first started, to have ever achieved this many games is just beyond my wildest expectations,” Chambers told the Colchester Gazette.
"It’s been an amazing achievement; an amazing journey. It’s one that I don’t feel is over yet and I still feel I’ve got plenty of games left in me. My personal objective is to get as far up that table as I can really.
"I feel like I’ve got so much more to give the game and there’s no part of me that’s thinking of hanging my boots up.
"There’s plenty more that I can give and I think I’ve played every game this season, so far. As long as I feel I’m giving enough to the team and the group on and off the pitch then I’ll continue to play, as long as I’m wanted around.
"I’m not stupid; I know that clubs have their own ideas about how they want to go forward but I feel like I’ve given a lot of service to the club already in my 18 months here.
"It’s something that I want to continue, especially with what the gaffer’s building and my relationship with him and everyone at the club.
"I’m really enjoying my football, especially since the turn of the year and I think the group is fulfilling the potential I always knew we had.”
Chambers, who made his Northampton Town league debut in 2003 before moving on to Nottingham Forest four years later, added: "I’ve had some unbelievable times. I’ve really felt valued wherever I’ve been but my relationship with the manager [Matt Bloomfield] and the players at the moment, I’m really enjoying every day.
"I really look forward to going into work, I really look forward to games whereas for spells in my career, I haven’t looked forward to too many games at times.
"I think we have enough in our dressing room to really have a go at something here.
"I don’t want my career to finish this season; I don’t want it to finish here.
"While I’m adding value to the team and the club, I’d like to still be here moving forward.
"I’ve probably averaged about 45 games a season for about 20 years.
"A lot of that isn’t down to luck or personality; it’s because I’m quite a good footballer, I think.
"I’ve never been my own biggest fan. I went up to Nottingham Forest for their semi-final against Manchester United the other night and when you go back to a club when you’re not directly involved and you feel the size of the club that you’ve played at and had such a big part to play there, it’s great.
"The gaffer mentioned it before to the lads and it was just one of those nice touches for me.
"I’ve been always everyone else’s biggest fan in every game and every day in training and it’s never been about me but I’m going to enjoy this and my achievement in the game, because no one can ever take that away.
"There’s some unbelievable players on that list and at the end of the day, I’ve played for some very, very big clubs and captained those clubs. It’s been an unbelievable journey which for me, is nowhere near finished yet.”