DIMI KONSTANTOPOULOS will still be a Middlesbrough player when he sees if life begins at 40 after signing a new contract extension at the Riverside Stadium.

North-East neighbours Sunderland are known to have shown strong interest in the Greek goalkeeper in January and Chris Coleman, provided he stays in charge at the Stadium of Light beyond this season, was expected to renew his interest in the summer.

But Konstantopoulos will no longer be a free agent at the end of the campaign after committing to a further year at Boro.

The new deal means he will be at Middlesbrough when he turns 40 in November and he is determined to do everything he can to help bring Premier League football back to Teesside.

“It feels good,” said Konstantopoulos, who has a fantastic relationship with the club’s fans having been a key part of two promotion charges at Boro.

“It was the plan all along. I am settled, everyone knows I love the club, we have been through a lot of good times here. I want to see the club progress and I want to help achieve that.

“It’s one of the best feelings to hear the fans shout your name. In football you want to earn the respect of the fans, those who pay the money to support the club.

“When you finish your career that’s what you end up remembering. To me that’s really precious and I feel at home here. I will keep doing my best to help this club.”

Konstantopoulos joined Middlesbrough in the summer of 2013 when Tony Mowbray offered him the chance of a trial, just days before he was due to sign a contract with former club Hartlepool United.

His career has taken in Farense, Victoria Park, Coventry, Swansea, Cardiff and AEK Athens but he has been at Middlesbrough longer than any of his spells anywhere else.

Konstantopoulos is playing second fiddle to £5m goalkeeper Darren Randolph but it is a sign of how much he is appreciated that he was not allowed to move on in January when Sunderland tried hard to land him.

“Everyone knows when I first came here it was the same situation for me, even worse really, (playing back up goalkeeper),” Konstantopoulos told the club website.

“My mentality is to try to push myself, push the others around you and that’s what I am continuing to do. Even though I am five years older, I still feel sharp and that I can help. That’s my goal. I want to do my bit and that will help the others around me.”

He added: “Every club changes, everyone is trying to bring the best people in to move forward and that’s happening. We are moving in the right direction, we are showing what we can do and if we can do that until the end of the season then we can do that.”

Konstantopoulos, who moved to England to join Hartlepool in 2003, should be on the bench at Brentford on Saturday when Middlesbrough look to cement their place in the Championship’s top six.

Randolph, meanwhile, has been shortlisted for senior international player of the year award by the Football Association if Ireland.

The former West Ham goalkeeper has nailed down the No 1 shirt with the Republic of Ireland and he has competition from Brighton defender Shane Duffy and West Brom midfielder James McClean. The winners will be announced on Sunday.