Seamus Coleman reveals why he took longer to sign new Everton contract

Seamus Coleman has admitted he took a little more time than before to decide to extend his Everton contract because he thought his playing career might be over for good.

The 34-year-old signed a one-year extension in June to enter his 15th year at the club, having joined from Sligo Rovers for £60,000 in January 2009. Coleman has now clocked 409 appearances for the Blues, which places him 17th on the all-time list.

However, he was forced to sit out the final few weeks of last season after damaging his knee ligaments during the 2-2 draw with Leicester City back in May. Coleman sustained the injury toward the end of the first half after challenging Boubakary Soumare.

There were initial fears that the defender had suffered ACL damage, which would have kept him out for the long term. However, while the Republic of Ireland international did sustain ligament problems, it was not as bad as first expected.

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But while Coleman admits he never seriously considered leaving, he did have to think a lot longer than he previously had when it came to committing his future to the club as a result of the injury he picked up at the King Power and Everton's back-to-back battles to avoid relegation to the Sky Bet Championship.

Speaking to the Irish News, the full-back said: "I wasn’t thinking of, ‘where to next?’ We’d just had two very hard, draining seasons. It’s tough when you live and breathe it. I just had some thinking time.

"Ultimately, in the back of my mind, I love this football club. I love playing football for starters, and as long as I feel able, I thought to myself,