Aaron Hughes says he will play for Northern Ireland as long as he has club career

Aaron Hughes has vowed to continue playing for Northern Ireland as long as he still has a club career.

Despite Northern Ireland's failure to qualify for this summer's World Cup in Russia, Hughes insists he remains committed to playing for his country, having previously retired in 2011, only to be coaxed back by Michael O'Neill's arrival.

Hughes is undecided whether he will be available for the Nations League in September or the European Championship Qualifiers next March, but has assured O'Neill that as long as he continues to play he will always answer the call of his country.

"I think my decision to play on won't just be based on playing on for Hearts or Northern Ireland," explained Hughes, whose deal at Tynecastle expires at the end of this campaign.

"If I do decide to play on and the chance to play for Northern Ireland is still there, I'll still do it. It'll not be a case of me playing club football but not international football, it's more my decision whether or not to continue playing football, that'll sort itself out.

"The first decision to make at the end of the season is whether or not to continue playing football, then other decisions will follow.

"I'm not even looking past the end of the month, I'm really not. My mind changes so much. One day I'll get up and think, 'I can keep going on forever' then there are other days when you think, 'It's time, I've had enough', which is
why I'm trying not to think about it too much."