Cougars player of the year Olly Pursglove admits he is facing the biggest decision of his career as he weighs up the prospect of quitting his home-town club.

The second-rower progressed through the ranks at Cougar Park and has been a first-team regular for the past seven seasons.

But he is entering the final 18 months of a five-year, part-time BSc honours degree in architectural technology and says his academic commitments, coupled with his job at Skipton Properties, could force him to turn down a new contract with Paul March’s side.

The Championship outfit have offered 27-year-old Pursglove, chosen by March as the club’s player of the year for 2013, a one-year deal.

Pursglove said: “I haven’t decided yet because I’m working towards finishing my degree and that’s a big commitment for me.

“I’ve spoken to Marchy and he said he wanted me on board again next season.

“He has offered me a one-year deal but I took a step back and thought that I would be doing it for the wrong reasons because my degree is my priority.

“However, I might find out in a few months that I do have the time. If that’s the case, I’d be back down there straight away.

“Marchy is away at the moment and when he comes back I’ll have another word with him and do a little bit of pre-season just in case I do have enough time, come February, to jump straight back in there.

“I’m totally in the dark at the moment about how much time this degree is going to take up.

“I only have another 18 months left so I want to knuckle down and get the best grade possible. I don’t need too many other distractions.”

Local lad Pursglove, who began his rugby league career with the Cougar Cubs, is now based in Headingley and studying the final part of his course at Leeds Met, having begun it at Bradford College.

“Work offered to pay for the course and I’ve got to basically repay them by getting the qualification and making sure I do it to the best of my ability,” he said.

“I’ve been with Skipton Properties for about six years. When I got the job there they said they wanted to get me into a course straight away.

“I thought it was going to be two years but I had done more modules than I thought, so it’s another 18 months and I should have it finished by summer 2015.

“I’ve had a full-time job and played at Cougars before and found it really hard to balance it out. That’s why I’ve decided to knock rugby on the head at the moment.

“Like I said though, I’m still in talks with Marchy and will probably go down in pre-season and do a few sessions with the lads and see how it goes.”

Despite a mixed campaign for the Cougars which saw them narrowly avoid relegation, Pursglove enjoyed a fine season and was a model of consistency.

“I wasn’t expecting the two awards that I got, although I knew I’d had a half-decent season,” he said.

“But as a squad it was a massive rollercoaster of a season with plenty of ups and downs. Overall we underperformed.”