Andy Considine admits the onus is on him to determine whether his future lies at Pittodrie.
The Aberdeen defender is out of contract at the end of the season and has only ever represented the Dons, making his debut as a teenager in May 2004.
While his preferred position is at centre-half, Considine has made a home for himself at left-back and seen off numerous challenges to his berth. He felt his Aberdeen career could have been over when Graeme Shinnie joined in 2015 and the arrival of Max Lowe in the summer provided further competition.
With injuries and suspensions at the back, Considine has played the majority of games and knows only his own performances will determine where he is plying his trade next season.
Considine said: “I’ve been lucky enough – it’s been unfortunate what’s happened to Scott with his injury and suspension – to play centre-half. When Max came in it was another challenge.
“When Shinnie came in I thought that was it, to be honest, with how well he’s done. When life throws you challenges you have to meet them head on and that’s what I’ve done.
“Scott has been out of the team so I’ve been able to play centre-half and Max has been at left-back. It’s up at the air at the minute but regardless of age or how long I’ve been here, I’m up for the fight.
“Of course, my contract is on my mind. I’m far from old but when your contract runs down it is worrying. All I want to do is play on a Saturday because then I’m in the shop window. If it’s not here then somewhere else.
“I’ve always said I want to stay here, I love playing here and would love for it to continue. It’s down to me; if I’m consistent week in, week out, my stay will be longer than this season. This year I’ve felt the fittest I’ve ever been. When it came to doing the tests in pre-season, I scored a lot better than recent years. I feel I can run faster and run more.
“You see some players as they get older either fall off the bandwagon or keep going forever. If I have to play left-back for the rest of my career that’s just the way it is, I can handle that. But I’d love to go and play centre-half somewhere.”
The 31-year-old was part of the League Cup-winning squad in 2014 and to date, that is his only career silverware.
However, with the semi-final to come against Rangers on Sunday, the chance is there to change that.
He added: “It’s been a couple of years since we’ve made a final and it’s been great to be part of semi-finals and finals, since the manager came in. We could really do with getting to a final and lifting some silverware. These next few days are huge for us.
“I played maybe two or three semi-finals early in my career and other than the League Cup, I’ve not won anything. It would be nice to have that day at Hampden and get our hands on something.”