Departing Workington Reds star Kyle May says he is leaving the side's defence in safe hands.

May said up and coming players like Sam Smith, Josh Calvert and Matty Douglas, combined with the experience of Dan Wordsworth, are the future for Reds.

And the fact that the back four are gaining in experience was another factor in his decision to leave, along with other commitments.

"They've got some good players there now and they don't need me if I'm honest," said May, who spent 13 seasons at Borough Park.

"At the start of this season they were a little bit short and they asked me to come back and I said I would.

"But they have Sam, Josh and Matty who are all a year older now and that bit more experienced and then they got Dan back as well.

"I think the defence is in safe hands now and that's one of the reasons I felt it was time to go.

"It gets harder as well with all the travelling and off the field I have a family and work, along with the physical side of things."

May is now weighing up his options before making a decision on his future.

He said that he had received a couple of offers from other clubs but hadn't yet made a firm decision.

He added: "This is the first time in a long time that I haven't known what I was going to do.

"I've had a couple of offers to go and play still and one of them is a possibility in a different league in the north east.

"And if things work out then I will maybe take them up on it."

May originally announced his retirement 12 months ago but then returned to the club for one last season.

And he added that he was disappointed that he could not help them reach promotion.

"This season didn't end well as I wanted to achieve what we didn't do last year but it wasn't to be," added May.

"They needed help and I would never leave them in the lurch because of everything they have done for me."

The club legend has taken his career total to 544 appearances (plus 20 more as a substitute), scoring 32 goals in the process.

Adding non-competitive games into the equation, May has appeared in a Workington shirt 650 times, the like of which is unlikely to be seen again.

May capped a wonderful career by guiding the club to the Cumberland Cup success over Penrith at Brunton Park, proudly lifting the trophy in his home city.

The defender will feature for Workington one final time when he appears in a special game in support of Tony Hopper on May 21 against former Carlisle legends at Brunton Park.