Bolo Zenden insists he is yet to hold talks with Sunderland over extending his contract.
Sunderland veteran not yet ready for coaching role
Bolo Zenden insists he is yet to hold talks with Sunderland over extending his contract.
The Dutch midfielder, 34, is out of contract in the summer after two years at the Stadium of Light.
Black Cats boss Steve Bruce has admitted he would like to keep Zenden, who is club captain and has had a positive impact off the field.
Negotiations over a new deal are yet to begin, though, and it has been rumoured he could be offered a coaching role.
And although the former Barcelona, Chelsea and Liverpool star has been frustrated by a lack of first-team opportunities, he believes he still has plenty to offer on the field and could extend his spell on Wearside.
"There hasn't been a chat yet," Zenden told
The Journal. "The situation hasn't changed.
"In the last six games, I believe I've had about nine minutes. You can understand where I am at the moment. It's certainly something I will take into consideration.
"I'm obviously not happy with the minutes I've had, but that doesn't mean we have to jump to conclusions. There's still loads to come.
Options open
"That could definitely be at Sunderland, but it could definitely be somewhere else. Maybe because of the situation I'm in, (a move into coaching) is something other people will start speculating about, but I'm not ready for it.
"I'm not going to be pushed into certain situations when I'm not ready for it. But it might put question marks over what I want."
The arrival of Sulley Muntari and Stephane Sessegnon has restricted Zenden to two substitute appearances since making his last start at Blackpool on 22nd January.
Muntari was forced off 19 minutes into Sunderland's home defeat by Liverpool last time out, only for Bruce to send on Lee Cattermole.
The Black Cats boss has since admitted he should have brought on Zenden instead and although that comes as little consolation to the Dutchman, he hopes to be given more action before the end of the season.
Future
"It's a positive thing that someone admits a mistake but it doesn't give me back the games that have passed," he said.
"Potentially the home game against Liverpool could have been my last against my former team, which I didn't feature in - that's not going to come back.
"There's still eight games to go so we have to see what it brings," Zenden added. "Within the league there's still so much to play for. It might be very important for the club and my future where we end the season.
"It's absolutely possible other people will get the chance ahead of me, as long as that's not written (in stone). I guess if someone is injured and you are presumably number two, you should be playing."
