STEVIE Lyle says his retirement plans are far from set in stone and the veteran netminder will bide his time before deciding if his upcoming campaign with the Swindon Wildcats will be his last.

The 34-year-old former Great Britain star told the Advertiser earlier this year that he was considering whether to make the impending season, which gets underway this weekend, the final chapter of his 21-year career.

Stopper Lyle confirmed that he may still opt to step away from the game at the end of his second year with the Cats but the Welshman’s future remains in his own hands.

“When I made that comment, a lot of people came up to me saying ‘oh, why are you retiring?’ but I was really just talking about the fact that it’s the end of my contract,” said Lyle.

“You never know what’s going to happen. I enjoy playing for Swindon and it’s the closest EPL team to where I live in Cardiff.

“It’s all about seeing how my body copes and if I get to a point where me being in the team isn’t helping the side, then I’d want to leave with my head held high.

“But hopefully it never gets to that point. I’ve been playing for a long time and I still enjoy being at the club and hanging out with the lads.

“I don’t want to let the team down but I’m going to just see how the year goes before making any decisions.”

Swindon were beaten 3-2 by Bracknell Bees at the John Nike Leisure Centre in their final challenge fixture of the summer last weekend.

Lee Richardson and Jan Kostal both stuck late on to claw back a 3-0 deficit but Ryan Aldridge’s men were seen off in Berkshire.

Lyle added: “We lost the game at Bracknell but we shouldn’t be too worried about that. We had a lot of chances and I don’t think that we were far off getting a third goal at the end.”

Cats get the season underway with a Challenge Cup clash with National League Chelmsford Chieftains at the Link Centre on Saturday before making the trip to Manchester Phoenix in the Premier League on Sunday.