Kevin Phillips is putting any thoughts of retirement from the game on hold, at least for a while.

The 36 year-old striker is keen to play on for as long as he can and the words of former teammate, current Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn, have hit a nerve. Phillips said: 'I am definitely going to play on for another season. I feel fit to play on for another year or two, definitely another year. I'm not ready to retire yet. I spoke to Niall Quinn in the week and one thing he said to me was 'play on as long as you possibly can’. A lot of people have said that to me so I will definitely be having another year. Where that will be, who knows. If it is at Birmingham, then great. But that is the manager's decision.'

Despite his uncertainty about his future at St Andrews, the former Sunderland striker is keen to see new faces arrive and is convinced that it was a lack of investment in the squad that cost his former employers their top flight status. "I felt the second season we finished seventh at Sunderland, we needed to go out and spend £10-15million on three or four players. But it never happened and the next year we struggled - and the season after we got relegated. I just hope Birmingham don't go down that same route.”