Craig Forsyth has been offered a new contract.
Craig Forsyth says the club are 'building' for the Premier League.
Craig Forsyth hopes to help Derby County get back to the Premier League after fearing for the club's existence when it dropped down to League One.
As the Rams' longest-serving player gears up for his 13th full season at Pride Park, Forsyth has set lofty ambitions ahead of the new campaign, which begins at Stoke City on Saturday (3pm).
"Of course, you have to [aim to return to the Premier League," the 36-year-old defender told the BBC.
"That is what everyone plays football for, to achieve their dreams, and that is one thing that is still missing for me. So to be able to do that would be the ultimate thing on top of everything at the end of my career, so we will see what happens."
Forsyth also reflected on his more-than-a-decade stint with the club, which saw him lose several years of his career to injuries.
"Football is about setbacks, highs and lows and how you deal with them," he explained, admitting that there were times when he thought his career was over.
Craig Forsyth will enter his 13th season with Derby County.
From November 2015 to August 2017, Forsyth featured just four times for the Rams after sustaining ligament damage to his right knee twice. The same would happen to his left knee just a year later, sidelining him again for the majority of the calendar year.
"It was probably with that last injury when you thought, 'Is it time to call it a day?'
"But it's all I've known since I left school, and you are a long time retired, so I just thought 'don't give up on it and keep going'. Thankfully I have managed to get another five or six years so far, and hopefully with a couple more to go."
Despite these setbacks, the Scottish international has managed 382 appearances for the Rams. And in that time, Forsyth has also twice suffered agonising play-off final defeats, to Queens Park Rangers and Aston Villa, with Premier League football the prize.
Derby County missed out on a Premier League return after losing to Aston Villa in the 2019 Play-Off final. (Image: Getty)
He added: "It still hurts. You always think, 'What if that game had gone the other way and we had got promoted?'
"There have certainly been opportunities missed. And that is what they are, opportunities to go up to the Premier League. Unfortunately for us, we didn't take them.
"And for us now it's about that next opportunity. Can we get another one to get there? That is what we are building for."
A single point separated County from relegation last season after a miraculous and dramatic escape executed by manager John Eustace, appointed in February, who played his final game for the club alongside Forsyth more than a decade ago.
For his contributions last season, Forsyth earned a two-year extension at Pride Park, taking him past his eventual 38th birthday after being declared "a Derby County legend" by his boss.
Eustace added: "He is a top professional and top performer still. He is never going to let you down."