KRIS COMMONS wants to stay at Celtic - but has warned against the club letting him run the clock down on his Parkhead career.

The 30-year-old is determined not to end up in the same position as Georgios Samaras, Joe Ledley and Gary Hooper, who all saw their contracts at Parkhead run into the final few months.

Commons - who has just collected the PFA Scotland Player of the Year award for his best-ever season in the Hoops - is about to move into the one-year

option period of the deal he signed when he joined from Derby as a £300,000 snip in January 2011.

He has banged in 28 goals this term and put himself into a very strong position to win a new contract.

Leicester - who have won promotion back to the Premiership - have been linked with a move for the Nottingham-born midfield star.

But Commons is blinkered to all such overtures, and said: "I've not got any aspirations about leaving.

"I am not thinking about what's down the road, or what's elsewhere for me.

"I'm very comfortable here. I am happy, and my family is happy.

"So I have got 12 months to try and earn a new contract.

"Hopefully, I will try to get that. But, in football, you never know what's around the corner."

Which is precisely why he would rather get his future sorted as soon as possible.

He has witnessed Samaras struggling through the final 12 months of his time at the club - again, Celtic held a one-year option on his deal - and does not want to go through the same sort of scenario.

Commons explained: "I think that's the worst situation you can be in, from a club point of view, and as a player.

"If you go into the last 12 months and you get a serious injury, you might not get a club ever again.

"It's not a nice position, and it seems to have happened to some of our best players, Sami, Joe, and Hoops was getting into the latter stages of his contract, too,

"The club ends up losing really top players for minimum money."

Neil Lennon has made it very clear he expects the club to take up the option on Commons' contract, and that he wants the player to remain at Celtic for a long time after that.

The Hoops boss believes the goal-

machine has another two or three years at his peak, and has even indicated he foresees Commons taking up some form of coaching position at Parkhead when he hangs up his boots.

But while Commons is more than happy to sit down around the table and discuss a new deal, he will not be knocking on any doors trying to instigate contract talks.

He said: "It's the last position I want to be in, going into the final 12 months or six months without any contact from the club about the future.

"I am hoping over the summer something will get arranged before I do enter the last 12 months of my current contract.

"But I don't think it is my place to go in there begging for a contract.

"If they want to keep me, they have my number."