The 36-year-old also knows that Sunday's showdown with Sydney, win lose or draw, could well be his final appearance in the navy blue shirt with which he has been synonymous through A-League history, ever since he scored Victory's first ever goal in a 1-1 draw with Sydney in the opening round of the 2005-06 season. "Everyone knows that I want to play on. Whether it be here, it's still yet to be decided. I spoke to Musky (coach Kevin Muscat) four months ago and said where does my future lie? He said it's a month by month, week by week thing. "It's almost getting time where the club has to make a decision. I think I have done well this year with the limited time that I have. I have scored 11 goals. When I have started matches I have performed and done a job ... and at 36 years old I am still running rings around 19-year-olds. "I would love it (the continuation of his career) to be here but obviously Benny (Fahid Ben Khallfallah, who recently inked a more lucrative, two-year deal to stay at Victory) has taken all the money in the [salary] cap so that might make it a little bit hard. "I might be playing for peanuts if I stay here but I feel personally that I don't warrant a big drop in pay because I am still performing. Whether it be here or somewhere else we will wait and see."

The uncertainty over his future has made it difficult, Thompson says. "You like to know your future as a player, but this has added a different element to it as I know this might be my last season here. "I want to play, I want to start. When I have started this year I have done a job and I think I have done it well. Whether Kev wants to start me or have me come off the bench, I have had to adapt this year. "Probably in previous years I would have lost my shiz, but this year I am not doing that because it's more about the team. I have played my role this year and hopefully I can do it again on Sunday. "I have been treating every game as if it's my last for Melbourne Victory since I had that talk with Musky four months ago. I want to win something with this club because potentially it could be my last game with this club."

Would he be tempted by a move to City? Two former high-profile Victory men, Harry Kewell and Brazilian midfielder Fred, both crossed town to join the then Melbourne Heart, although the new City, with its funding from Manchester City, is a very different beast and is likely to look further afield for younger recruits. "I am open to anything. I want to keep playing football, I am still performing, I still feel good, I still feel like I have a lot to contribute to any club. My main focus at the moment is doing a number on Sydney on Sunday. "It's been a long, long time coming. If this is going to be my last game with Melbourne Victory, which I don't want it to be, I want to leave on a winning note." Thompson will turn 37 shortly after the start of the next A-League season. He is definitely in the veteran stage, but there have been plenty of older players who played the game at a much higher level than the A-League. He likened himself to Essendon legend Dustin Fletcher, who is still holding down a first team spot with the Bombers at the age of 40.

"I love this game, I feel as though I am in good shape. I am like Dustin Fletcher. I used to be Benjamin Button, now it's the Dustin Fletcher of Australian soccer. I still feel good and I still want to contribute until the day I feel I can't do that any more, whether that's in the grand final or a pre-season training session, that will be my decision." The grand final is huge for the club, but it's equally the chance for Thompson to make another statement. He might not bag five goals like he did in the 2007 destruction of Adelaide, but even one on Sunday would make a point. "If not to Melbourne Victory, I want to prove to other clubs that I have still got it, and I think I have. I want to stay at Melbourne Victory, but the final decision comes down to the club."