HE may be preparing for a 19th season at Glamorgan but Robert Croft insists he still has the fire in his belly to make an impact.

The former England off spinner, who turns 38 next month, may not play as large a part as he hopes in the one-day game this summer but his guile and experience mean that he is likely to be a crucial component of the county championship side.

The 2007 campaign may have been one of the worst that Croft has experienced, despite taking his 1,000th wicket in first-class cricket, but that hasn't put the West Walian off the game.

"My desire is still there, there's no doubt about that," he said. "I still have personal goals and ambitions and I get up every morning looking forward to coming to play.

"I have still got standards that I like to meet, I have still got roles I want to play in the team and I am still ambitious to carry them out to the best of my ability.

"I have milestones that I want to achieve but I keep them to myself.

"Everybody jumped on the 1,000 wickets last season but I have got standards that I want to maintain.

"I want to show these players what I feel it takes to become a successful cricketer and be there for the team and management to hopefully put things right from where we've been wrong over the past few seasons.

"I am an individual who is proud of the shirt I wear.

I want to walk out and play in every Glamorgan match, but that's not in my hands to a certain degree, that's something selectors have to cope with, but I need to make sure I am playing to the best of my ability in every opportunity I am given."

The young players in Glamorgan's squad had to get used to losing last season but Croft believes that won't harm their development.

"I don't think defeat scars youngsters too much," he said.

"When I think back to when I started, at that age you are just happy to be playing whether you have won or whether you have lost.

"What older players can do is give them a little nudge in certain situations out in the middle about what is coming, what to expect and how to combat it."

"If everybody can perform and reach individual targets then we will be there come the end of the season but it's down to how we start and whether we build up momentum."