Thomas Sorensen believes his decision to slip into international retirement will allow him to compete at the top level domestically for 'three or four years'.
Potters keeper targets four more years after international retirement
Thomas Sorensen believes his decision to slip into international retirement will allow him to compete at the top level domestically for 'three or four more years'.
At the age of 36, the Stoke goalkeeper has decided to rule himself out of contention with his native Denmark.
Sorensen has represented his country on 101 occasions over the course of 13 years.
He feels that a tough call was the right one, with it his intention to play club football for as long as possible.
The veteran shot-stopper hopes putting himself in a position to take regular breaks during a gruelling Premier League season will aid his quest to nail down the No.1 spot at Stoke.
Focus
"It's never easy to make that sort of decision when something has been such a big part of your life, as playing for my country has been for the last 10 or 12 years," Sorensen told the Potters'
official website.
"But I feel I have another three or four more years left in me yet, and this decision will enable me to focus on my club career. I felt it was the right time to step down."
He added: "In many respects this is the start of something new for me, and I will be giving my all for Stoke from now on in the hope I can feature in the manager's plans.
"Going away on international duty was always very hard. It was 10 days virtually every month through the season where the training was very intense.
"Now I will have more time to recover and keep the focus, which can only improve my chances of playing for much longer, which is what I want to do at club level."
