Giggs should play until he drops

 WEST HAM are giving their first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award to legendary captain Billy Bonds.

But Bonzo has plenty of life left in him yet and has still not finished with achieving.

At 66, the superfit grandad still does 200 press-ups EVERY DAY, 1,000 sit-ups per week and is only half a stone heavier than his playing weight.

The Hammers' greatest all-rounder played in the top flight until he was 41 and clocked up 793 appearances in claret and blue before retiring reluctantly in 1988.

It is a lesson in longevity as football rightly applauds Manchester United stalwart Ryan Giggs, who recently became a Millennium Man passing the 1,000-game milestone and is ploughing on at 39.

Bonzo's old club take on United at Upton Park tonight.

And Bonds said: "If I could give Ryan one piece of advice it would be this: ‘Play on until you drop’.

"You won't half miss it when you can't play anymore. I tried my hand at coaching and management afterwards and trust me, it's no substitute.

"I always remember my old boss John Lyall would come to me every summer and say 'I suppose you want another year Bill?' Without thinking I would say 'yes'. No question about it.

 "Your fitness you can keep. Your stamina actually improves as you get older but it's your pace that fades. I watch Giggs and he still has it though. He's remarkable.

"I was 40-odd and played against Gazza when he was 16. He made his debut against us. That's when you realise your body is struggling to keep up.

"But above all that, you also need to enjoy it. That's the most important thing. Giggs has Champions League medals, Premier League medals, he has won everything.

"I was struggling against relegation most years. We were dangerous occasionally in the cups but usually West Ham were up against it in the league. But I loved it, every single minute.

"I look at players like Mario Balotelli and see the scowl on the face and I wonder why he bothers? But Giggs seems to love it more the older he gets.

"I don't envy him his medals, I don't envy any modern player their wealth either. What I do envy is their youth. How I'd love to be able to be young again and go out and do it all over again.

"The thing about Giggs is that he has also done this at one club. No one seems to stay very long at a club any more. That makes it even more laudible.

"Things like that matter to the fans. These days you get a good player in and he leaves after six months for £40,000 a week more it seems. You can't relate to them.

 "With Giggs it is different. From the skinny teenager we watched emerge from the youth team, to the superstar he has become, he has only ever worn one shirt and that's almost as amazing as his staying power."

Modest Bonds does not care for accolades, gongs and trophies.

Just as well, because his mantelpiece is hardly sagging under the weight of silverware from his time at Upton Park.

He lifted the FA Cup twice as skipper — in 1975 and 1980. There is an old Division Two winners medal from 1981 as well but his most cherished souvenirs are the memories of playing with and against the best.

Bonds says: "Going to Liverpool in the late 1960s, with the noise from The Kop, The Beatles and all that the city was then, that will take some beating.

"A white fence all around the pitch at Old Trafford, watching Bobby Charlton tossing his hair back all the time. And playing against the great Leeds teams. I'd do it all again and wouldn't change a thing."

That includes the sad way his official association with West Ham ended in 1994 when he resigned as manager.

He has been back just a couple of times since. Yet gentleman Bonds insists he has no hard feelings.

He said: "I love the club. It was a sad way to end it there but that's life. I'm not bothered any more. It's water under the bridge.

"The chairman David Gold invited me to lunch and explained the club wanted to honour me for what I have done for them and that this would be the first award of its kind.

"I am not big into trophies and medals but I could hardly say no could I?"