BRADENTON, FLA. —

Steven Caldwell wants to play beyond the final season of his contract.

Then, TFC’s former captain, age 34, wants to play another season after that.

After 2017, the veteran centre back would be interested in playing three more.

“No,” he interrupted the Toronto Sun mid-question following Saturday’s 1-0 pre-season win over Danish side HB Koge.

“Not even thinking about (retiring),” he continued.

Not even a little?

“I feel great,” Caldwell told the Sun. “I’m 34. Guys play until they’re 40. There are 34 games in an MLS season, I used to play 55 a season (in England).”

Hampered with hamstring injuries in 2014, Caldwell appeared just 21 times last season, leading most to agree he’s on his last leg.

More alarm bells rang out last Wednesday when head coach Greg Vanney appeared to drop the Scotsman from the first team in a pre-season loss to the Oklahoma City Energy.

On Saturday, though, Caldwell left little doubt who should start next to Damien Perquis in the heart of TFC’s defence.

Following a strong 90 minutes — particularly in the second half — Caldwell also made his “guys play into their 40s” statement seem a little less ridiculous.

“I feel really good and really fit,” Caldwell said. “A testament to the pre-season we’ve had, which has been fantastic. I’m running quickly. There are still some things I’d like to be better at.

“All and all, I feel pretty sharp and on my game. Psychologically it was great to get 90 minutes in.”

The clean sheet — in large part due to a big game from Joe Bendik in goal — was also a massive confidence boost for a player whose offseason was nothing short of tumultuous.

Caldwell has faced trade rumours and buyout rumours this winter.

He was stripped of his captaincy, controversially.

If anything, a fair bit of disappointment has spurred Caldwell to perform beyond what TFC fans have seen heading into the final season of a two and a half year deal.

“By no means do I think this will be the last,” Caldwell said of playing beyond 2015. “If Toronto wants me, fantastic. I don’t want to leave this place. I love the club, I love the city.

“If Toronto does want me to leave then I’ll go somewhere else to a team that appreciates me more.”

Appreciation for the former Scottish international streamed in Saturday afternoon at the IMG Academy when observers noticed how solid Caldwell looked next to steady presence.

Him and Perquis were noticeably vocal, directing traffic while almost completely shutting down HB Koge’s attackers after halftime.

It was in stark contrast to Caldwell’s previous assignments the last two seasons: mentoring guys like Doneil Henry and Nick Hagglund.

Until now, Caldwell has always had to hold his partner’s hand. Now he just needs to work on his French.

“The poor lad doesn’t understand my English,” Caldwell — all smiles post-game — said of Perquis, a Polish international who was born in France.

“It’s not fair when French is his first language.”

Jokes aside, Caldwell admitted focusing more on himself has been somewhat of a relief.

“I thoroughly enjoyed playing with Doneil Henry last season, but it’s nice to be alongside a guy with a lot of experience and a lot of quality,” he said.

“(Perquis) has played at a very high level throughout his career. It’s a real pleasure. We have a lot of things to work on together, but I do feel we can be a very strong partnership.”

The Frenchman’s value was evident during Saturday’s match when he cleared two would-be goals off Toronto’s goal line to ensure the shutout.

Much like Caldwell, Perquis is big. He fights. He’s vocal. He plays with a certain energy that’s infectious to those around him.

“I thought their leadership and communication and experience together was very good for us,” Vanney said of the veteran pairing. “It’s only going to get better over time.

“Winning is a mentality. You can’t wait until the first game of the season to develop that.”

With left fullback Justin Morrow in MLS all-star form at the moment, the Reds are quite experienced across the back — with one big question mark.

It appears Mark Bloom and Warren Creavalle are competing to fill out the right side of defence.

It’s unclear who he was talking about, but Vanney mentioned post-game that “two or three” starting spots are still up for grabs.

And it’s not hard to narrow it down.

“Some guys have had days where they look really good and other days when they’re off,” Vanney said. “We made some mistakes (today) in terms of our (defensive) line and losing the ball in bad places.”

That led to a few odd-man breaks for the Danes that forced Bendik to come up big three times through the first 45 minutes.

“To win this game we had to do some things that were ugly,” Vanney told the Sun. “We had to earn our space on the field by playing direct sometimes and putting them under pressure. We started getting control of the game in the second half.

“I thought this was an important win because we learned how to win when the game wasn’t the way we wanted it to look.”

The kind of game Caldwell is expecting two weeks from now when the Reds head to Vancouver for the season opener.

“A game like that was good for us today,” Caldwell said. “It was horrible (windy) conditions against a strong side. It was a nasty style. It was awkward. It was good preparation for the first game.”

But in terms of off-the-pitch preparation, Caldwell fully admits there’s not much time left.

“I think I’m going to have to brush up on my French,” he said after his first game next to Perquis.

“(He doesn’t understand anything) that comes out of my mouth. I’m speaking too quickly in the heat of the moment.”

While his teammates are listening to whatever pump-up jams they do pre-game, it seems Caldwell might be turning up Rosetta Stone.

FANS WARY OF PLANS FOR BMO FIELD

Toronto FC fans’ concerns are rarely mentioned whenever Argos-to-BMO Field talk kicks up every few months.

And this month has been no different.

Recent rumblings once again point to BMO Field as being the only legitimate solution for the fledgling CFL franchise, which will be kicked out of the Rogers Centre by 2017.

It’s no secret MLSE has shown interest in purchasing the CFL team, but it’s believed the two sides remain far apart in terms of valuation.

Lost in it all are the concerns of Toronto’s soccer community, which questions whether MLSE will be able to maintain a pristine playing surface with gridiron taking place bi-weekly at BMO.

“It’s above my pay grade,” Toronto FC general manager Tim Bezbatchenko told the Toronto Sun. “It’s all speculation. I’m in charge of a soccer club.

“The surface is a concern, but other teams around the world do it. If you can get the appropriate surface there are ways to overcome those challenges.”

The key to it all could be replacing BMO’s current playing surface with a hybrid surface that utilizes artificial fibers along with natural grass.

“Either way we’ll survive,” Bezbatchenko said. “People have to remember that what we’re doing with the stadium overall is where it needed to go. The benefits outweigh the costs with or without the Argos.”

Phase 1 of the BMO Field expansion plan — including the addition of around 8,000 more seats and luxury suites — is scheduled to be completed ahead of TFC’s home opener in May. Phase 2 would include CFL expansion if the two sides agree to a deal.

While Toronto FC fans remain paranoid MLSE will replace BMO Field’s current grass surface with artificial turf if the Argos move in, MLSE officials remain adamant that won’t be the case, with one reasoning that it would be difficult to bring in quality players if the Reds weren’t competing on real grass.