Exclusive: Millwall legend Tony Craig reveals secrets to playing into his 40s &#8211; and opens up on post-retirement plans

MILLWALL legend Tony Craig has revealed how he managed to play into his 40s - and his plans after retirement.

Craig announced on Monday he would be calling time on a 23-year career at the end of the season. He has played 845 senior professional games.

The former Lions skipper grew up a Millwall supporter and came through their academy, making his debut under Mark McGhee in 2003 before reluctantly moving across south London to Crystal Palace in 2007.

He was not away for long, signing on loan for the final month of the season before rejoining permanently in the summer. He helped the Lions achieve promotion back to the Championship before departing again in 2012 to join a rapidly modernising Brentford side.

After three seasons in south-west London, he returned to his boyhood club for his fourth and final spell. He would again captain Millwall to two play-off finals, taking them back up to the Championship in 2017 before leaving for good six months later, finishing his Lions career with 324 appearances.

Aged 32, Craig has gone on to play for another eight years across spells at Bristol Rovers, Crawley Town and Dorking Wanderers, slowly moving down the divisions before playing out his final season with the latter in National League South, after winning the Wanderers’ player of the season award for 2024-25.

Only a few outfield players take their careers into their 40s - the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs, Teddy Sheringham and Luka Modric.

Maintaining that level requires a huge mental and physical effort to compete against players half your age.

Did Craig expect to get so far?

“I always knew I'd make 35, 36,” Craig, 41 this month, tells NewsAtDen . “That's the magic number as a professional footballer. For me, every year's been a bonus.

“I've kept myself in good nick throughout my time. I eat the right food. Do I go out and enjoy myself? Of course I do, but I know when the right time is to go and do that.

“I've had to miss some stuff over the years, miss nights out with the boys and all that. But do I regret that? No, because I've had a career beyond my wildest, wildest dreams.

“I'm up to 845 now. I couldn't call myself a professional footballer until I played 50 games. That was what I was actually told. So to get 845 is remarkable. I've got a smile like a Cheshire cat on my face, speaking about it.

“I look back on it as yes, I've made 845 games, but I include my family in that as well. They've been with me from the beginning, the middle and the end. They've been with me the whole part of the journey, and whatever success I've had, they've been with me the whole way. It’s something I’ll forever be grateful for.

“To play at 40 is fantastic, and I just love being a part of this game.”

Playing until 40-plus means battling against ageing, which eventually catches up with every athlete.

Power, speed, endurance, and agility all start to decline from your early-30s onwards, while the demands remain the same.

The average centre-back covers about 9.2km per game , all while scrapping and competing with forwards who would love nothing more than for you to make a mistake and gift them an opportunity.

How has he kept up with players half his age?

“I just don't like to be beaten,” Craig says. “The game has kept me feeling young as well.

“I'm in an environment now where I'm playing football with young men, eighteen to 22-year-olds, and they're on a completely different path from me. They just make me laugh and all that, because that was me, that young, naive youngster coming through seeing the stars, and now I'm coming to the end of my career with kids, a family, and a mortgage. You just look at things completely differently.

“But they galvanise me. They challenge me. When we do long-distance running, I'm dragging on to them. So they're dragging me through it as well, and I don't think they realise they're doing that, but I just love the game. I love being a part of it. And these young players keep me occupied, keep me on my toes, and I just love it.

“Some games, I'm marking 20-year-olds, and I'm outrunning them, and I’m thinking this shouldn't be happening. You should be looking at me like, ‘he cannot get the upper hand on me here, he’s got 20 years on me'. I'm probably older than some of their parents. I love that challenge and it keeps me young.”

As Craig grew older, his body took longer to recover from each match. His trademark resilience, however, allowed him to keep going.

“Sometimes you are tired, and the body's aching,” Craig says. “Sometimes the manager goes, ‘Do you want a day off?’ or something like that.

“I’d rather tell myself I'm not tired and I just get on with it. Why am I going to tell myself, ‘you are actually tired,’ because all of a sudden you're going to think that way, aren't you?

“If I think differently, then your body's going to react to that as well. So, of course, there are times where I'm aching and all that, but why am I going to tell myself that and why am I going to feel like that when I can make myself feel better? I think that's what's held me in good stead throughout my career.”

Craig’s later career has taken him across various levels of the game, from the second tier to the sixth, offering a unique insight into the differences between them.

“It’s tough down there,” Craig says. “People fight for absolutely everything.

“Some teams are obviously full-time, some teams are not. Some teams, certainly this time of the year, are still going for it, have things to play for, and then you've got some teams who sit mid-table who've given up now, and are just going for the summer break.

“The higher you play, the more you get punished for your mistakes. That’s the big difference. In the Championship, you make a mistake, you know you're going to be punished. You make a mistake in the National League, you can get away with it.

“But consistency with players as well. That’s what I've always tried to tell the young crop of players who I'm trying to build at the moment: consistency is key. There is no point turning up two games out of every ten. You’ve got to be a seven out of ten throughout the season, and that's where you’ll make a good career out of yourself.

“I was probably a seven out of ten, but I'm consistent with that. I ain't got no embarrassment with that either. If you want to call me a Steady Eddie, I’ll take that.”

Described by Dorking as “the most experienced footballer” to ever play for the club, Craig regularly fields questions from his younger team-mates about playing in the EFL.

“I get asked all the time,” Craig says. “I'm very privileged and honoured to be a part of the EFL, having played in the Championship and League One.

“They always ask, ‘What's it like? Is there much difference?’ I give my advice and what I’ve learnt from my experiences to absolutely anyone. The more the merrier.

“The more people ask, the better, because when I was young, I was a busy, busy person. And I'd ask questions day in, day out.”

Craig enjoys imparting his extensive knowledge and experience to younger players, both in the dressing room and as a coach.

While playing for Bristol Rovers in League One, he obtained his UEFA A Licence and assisted with academy coaching, a role he now holds with Millwall.

“I've been doing under-15s, under-16s for the past two-and-a-half years now,” Craig says. “I do that on a Monday and a Wednesday evening. I want to give back to the club. I know what they've done for me.

“But more importantly, I want to go into an environment where I'm comfortable coaching, and I'm going to learn from my mistakes. There are going to be mistakes on the way, aren't there? It’s a new job for me going forward, and it's one where I just love going in there. I enjoy it.

“I love seeing the young talent coming through in the academy. There’s a bright future in that academy as well going forward. Some good young, exciting players coming through, and if I can help in any way, then brilliant.

“I've just opened up my own football centre as well. Elite ProPerformance Football. Something which I'm very excited for. If I can give back and get the young people around south, south-east London to come down to the academy in Erith, and if we can help on a Monday or Thursday evening, I’ll be really pleased to give back to the community.”

Craig can solely focus on his coaching career after hanging up his playing boots for a final time.

Does he have any aspirations of becoming a first-team manager?

“My first goal is to go and work in a youth team environment,” Craig says. “A full-time one where I can go and give my wisdom, give advice, learn from what I've done throughout my career.

“Unfortunately, in this game there are more lows than highs. So people have got to adapt, and these youngsters have got to adapt, and nothing's handed to them. They've got to work hard for it. I'd love to do that for five years and then maybe see where I feel from there.

“If I can get a shot at maybe being a manager someday, then why not? But I think I want to be grounded first. I want to go and do youth team football because in first-team football, you only get one opportunity. I don't want to go into it where I'll maybe feel I'm not ready for it, because you get found out very, very quickly in the men's game.

“If I can get in a youth team environment somewhere, in a full-time environment, learn from my mistakes, take my wisdom, take my knowledge, and get people around me who I trust going forward, then maybe one day I can give it a go as a first-team manager as well.”