Essendon’s acting captain Brendon Goddard says he’s in negotiations to extend his tenure at the AFL club.

Goddard’s four-year deal with the Bombers expires at the end of the season and the 30-year-old says he has no intention of playing elsewhere.

“I have made it pretty clear that I’m in it for the long run and I want to see this out with this group and hopefully with a lot of the guys who aren’t here at the minute,” he told Fox Footy’s AFL Tonight program on Thursday night.

“I’m pretty keen to finish my career at Essendon.”

Goddard, who left St Kilda at the end of 2012, said he was still trying to find the correct balance as captain between looking after his teammates and concentrating on his own game.

“I’m not obviously in career-best form but I feel like I’m not far off it,” he said.

“I actually agree with some of the comments made … about probably spending too much time setting up structures and worrying about set-ups and what teammates are doing, which has always been a habit of mine.

“That is my tendency to try and do too much so I have to find a balance. If I can find that balance I’m not too far off from playing some good footy.

“But I think it’s really important to help those young guys with structures, I think that will help us in the long run.”