The Bees defender, 37, has agreed a new playing contract for next season but will take on an additional role coaching the club’s youngsters in tandem with Dean Selvey.

“If anyone’s expecting me to wind down and just go into coaching that’s certainly not going to happen,” Nelson told barnetfc.com.

“I will be doing coaching and taking games for the Under-23s but first and foremost I want to be in the first team, week in, week out and playing as many games as I did last season.

“At the moment I’m sitting at around 680 games in my career so it’d be nice to get into the 700s – that’s another milestone I’d like to get.

“I’ll be working hard through the summer. As well as doing my coaching course I’ll be in the gym, making sure I come back fit and push on next season.

“We were in a very good position for quite a period last season and then after January we hit a bit of a lull, but hopefully this time we can hit the ground running and sustain it right to the end.”

While he remains focused on first team football at The Hive, the experienced Nelson is also enthused by his new opportunity with the Under-23 squad.

“I’ve had my UEFA B coaching licence since 2012 and I’m going up to Scotland this weekend to start taking my A licence,” he added.

“It’s something I’ve certainly been looking to get into and, when you’re getting older, it’s naturally the next path that you take.

“Thankfully the chairman and Rossi (Eames) have seen enough in me to give me the younger group, to try and develop some players and hopefully get them into the first team.”