NEW York City Knights coach Richard Agar has declared he would love it if captain marvel Rich Hayes staved off retirement for one more season.

Agar, installed as the Knights' new boss over the weekend, has said he wants to keep the bulk of this season's squad for next term, and is set to speak to the players individually over the coming weeks as regards agreeing deals with those not already signed up.

And he has stressed that keeping 33-year-old prop Hayes, who is yet to decide whether to hang up his boots, would be of great benefit to the club.

"I would love him to go round again but it's a family issue, the length he's played and the timing of it all," Agar told the Evening Press.

"He's not given a definite no or yes. I know that since the season has finished he has trained every day, and that's an indication of what sort of person he is. I think it's a case of wait and see, but I would love him to stay for next season."

Hayes, a York rugby league legend who has also had successful spells with Hull KR and Hunslet in a career which has spanned more than 400 professional matches, was one of only two Knights players to have played in all 31 games of the 2003 season, the other being Trevor Krause.

He has at least one more game left to play for his home-town club as he has a testimonial match coming up. A date for the game has not been set but could be used as part of the Knights' pre-season preparations.

Agar added: "I respect his reasons for considering retirement, and if he does play again for us next year it will be a big bonus for the club."

Agar, who at 31 is one of the youngest coaches in the Rugby Football League, met the squad for the first time last night, where the players were presented with their shirts for the 2003 season.

"I will get round them all in the next week or two and we will take it from there," he said as regards contracts for next season.

The 2004 campaign is likely to start in mid-January or, more probably, early February - league bosses have yet to decide - and the Knights expect to begin pre-season training at the start of November, just six weeks after their eight-month 2003 season ended.

Agar, who has given the players a maintenance training programme for the off-season, admitted the players had little time for recuperation, but this was across the board in the National League.

"I don't think it's long enough for them," he said. "The National League season (from January to September/October) is an extraordinarily long season and the players don't have a lot of time to rest.

"We're likely to get slightly longer this year for pre-season but we've got in mind how long the season is and we will tailor training so the players aren't burnt out by March."

York Blind and Partially Sighted Society have thanked the Knights for letting them hold a fund-raising bucket collection at Sunday's play-off game against Barrow.

Knights players Leigh Deakin and Leigh Riddell, who were not in action that day, were among those from the club who volunteered to help with the collection, which raised £287 for the charity.

"We are delighted with the response from the fans," said YBPBS fund-raising manager Linda Hill, the former treasurer at York Acorn ARLC.

Updated: 14:29 Wednesday, September 24, 2003