Everton skipper Phil Neville is calm over his new contract talks.

Neville is out of contract this summer.

Talks have not yet been planned about an extension - even though Neville has started 20 matches already this season - and that's just the way he wants it.

"I'm quite relaxed about the situation," said Neville. "I spoke to the manager before Christmas and he asked me what I wanted to do. And I said I wanted to speak probably more towards the end of the season.

"I think I'm a year older than Sylvain Distin (who has just signed a year's extension).

"When I spoke to the boss I'd just come out from having my knee operation and I think it's sensible at my age to first, see how the body is, and then see how my situation is within the club and at the end of the day ask 'Do I still retain the hunger and the determination, and more importantly am I still having a positive effect on the team?'

"These are the things over the next three or four months that I'll be weighing up and we'll take it from there.

"There's no real panic or mad rush to talk about or discuss a new contract. At the end of the day there's bigger and more important things to concentrate on.

"I suppose it's more about me rather than about the club - it's about how I feel.

"I've been at Everton for the last eight years and I've been captain and I've been a large part of what's been going on.

"But I want to remain as influential and if felt I wasn't as influential or I felt my form had dropped, or if I was standing in the way of someone who was coming through then I would have to look at it.

"That's the reason why I'm in no rush."