NOTTS County captain Neal Bishop believes he has still got to prove he deserves a new deal at Meadow Lane.
The midfielder has been in great form for the Magpies this season – and has added a whole new dimension to his game.
He is not just a tough tackler now, he also scores goals.
Having netted four league goals in three years, the 31-year-old has already scored four in League One this term.
He is out of contract at Meadow Lane next summer and spoke to the Post about his future.
"My contract situation will take care of itself if I keep playing well," he said. "It's not something I worry about.
"I'm not the only one, there are quite a few of us out of contract next summer and we've all got to show that we deserve to be here.
"It's all right doing it for 16 or 17 games, but we've all got to do it over the whole season."
Bishop is one of only two players left from the Magpies' League Two title-winning team of 2010, with striker Lee Hughes, and he would love to agree a new deal and play in the Championship with the club.
"Every year I have been here the standards have increased and increased," he added.
"We have now got the best playing squad since I've been here and we've got the set-up behind the scenes to take this club forward."
Bishop scored as Notts beat Colchester 2-0 in midweek to climb up to fifth place.
They face fourth-placed Crawley Town at Meadow Lane tomorrow and, after four home league defeats already this season, Bishop knows they have got to get back on track.
"We're under no illusions our home form has got to improve drastically if we want to get out of this league and that is our aim this season," he added.
