Hughton tips Carr to carry on

Stephen Carr: Birmingham City captain is not expected to retire in the summer, according to Chris Hughton

Chris Hughton does not expect Stephen Carr to retire at the end of the season, but has yet to decide whether the Birmingham City captain will be offered a new contract.

The 35-year-old is currently sidelined due to a knee injury and is facing a battle to return to fitness before the campaign is over.

His contract at St Andrew's expires in the summer and talks regarding extensions are on hold during Birmingham's push for promotion back to the Premier League.

Carr previously retired briefly in December 2008 before being lured back into the game by Blues just two months later and Hughton feels the full-back will want to carry on playing next term.

Fit

"Stephen wants to play, he hates not playing, he hates not training," said the Birmingham manager.

"As we've seen, certainly in the good periods he's had this season, he's a very, very fit lad, I'm quite sure he'll want to play as long as possible."

Whether that is with City remains to be seen, with Hughton adding: "We've got a few players, three in particular (Carr, David Murphy and Colin Doyle), whose contracts will be up at the end of the season and we're assessing.

"The only reason they've been put on the back burner a little bit is because of where we are and our strive to get into the play-offs and, more so, to get back into the Premier League."