MIKE Tindall has started talks with Gloucester over a new Kingsholm contract – but the first sticking point could be duration.

The Citizen understands the former Gloucester captain, who skippered the side to 27-24 Northampton victory on Saturday, wants a new two-year deal with the Cherry and Whites.

But Gloucester head coach Bryan Redpath is understood to favour handing the former England centre a one-year deal.

This is the exact same situation that arose this time last year, and at that point Redpath was not ready to stretch to two years because of the potential impact of the World Cup.

But this time round Redpath will probably be guarding against Tindall's longevity.

Tindall will be 34 in October, and while he can still produce pivotal showings against the muscular and direct sides Gloucester will be concerned with whether he will be able to sustain those performance levels for two more years.

The continued emergence of Ryan Mills will also have an impact.

The England Under-20s cap has stepped into the first team squad as a fly-half this term to cover Freddie Burns and Tim Taylor.

But Mills himself feels his natural position is 12, and there is no reason why he cannot operate at 13 either.

His physical defence and impressive ability over the ball at the tackle mark him out as capable of slotting seamlessly into either centre role.

Next term could be the year that he breaks through as a first team regular, and so perhaps Gloucester would view Tindall as a guiding hand for one campaign, not two.

Billy Twelvetrees will be the front-runner for the 12 shirt next term, with Mills also in the mix, and then Tim Molenaar and Henry Trinder more naturally used at 13.

Molenaar can operate at 12 as and when required but fits Gloucester's shape better at outside centre – and Tindall is very much in the same mould.

Tindall's two Heineken Cup performances against Toulouse this term underline his continued ability to pull out class and composure against the most bruising of opponents.

And Redpath wants the bullish midfielder to bring all his experience to bear on the Gloucester squad next term, especially in similarly top-drawer tussles.

Gloucester handed Tindall a one-year deal for this campaign so that Redpath and the other coaches could reassess the 75-cap midfielder's situation while the season unfolds.

At the time Redpath had said that the impact of the World Cup would either leave Tindall hungry to extend his career still further or ready to wind it down.

Certainly it seems the former has been the case, with Tindall keen to prove without question he can still produce what Gloucester want.

Now it seems Cherry and Whites bosses are keen to extend Tindall's Kingsholm tenure again, after a period during which Redpath had told his former skipper to earn a new deal.

If Tindall does agree another one-year contract, next term will be much the same as this – he will have to prove himself worthy of the extra year that he would like to secure now.