The future playing career of former Otago and All Black prop Carl Hayman appears to lie with the performance of his side in the English Premiership.
Hayman was the subject of much speculation last month about an early return to New Zealand rugby, with Hayman (29) reportedly unhappy at his Newcastle club, and wanting to head back south.
But Hayman told the Newcastle Evening Chronicle this week he would love to see out his contract but that might not be possible for several reasons.
If Newcastle was relegated, Hayman said the decision to retain him would be in the club's hands to some degree.
Newcastle is 11th in the 12-team competition, three points ahead of Bristol.
The bottom team is relegated to the Division One championship.
Hayman admitted he was unsure whether the club would be able to hold on to him if it was relegated.
His contract runs to the end of the 2010 northern season.
Hayman has been injured for two months and, during some of that time, was back in New Zealand.
However, he said he did not talk to anyone in New Zealand about returning to this country to play rugby when home.
He said he would be at Newcastle until the end of the season at the very least.
Hayman is one of the highest-paid players in the premiership and it would be hard for Newcastle to keep playing his wages should the club fall to the next tier.
He also said if the club was not heading in the right direction and there was no desire to improve then he would consider his options.
The tighthead prop was injured after falling awkwardly while trying to charge down a kick and is just coming back to full fitness.
He is expected to start for Newcastle this weekend when it takes on Gloucester.
Hayman told the Premiership website any talk of a move back to New Zealand was just speculation and was fuelled by having to return to New Zealand for a short period on a personal matter.
He told the website in any employer-employee relationship there were points within time-frames where both parties can review the situation but at this stage there was no plan to leave.
Hayman is to return to New Zealand later this month to marry fiance Natalie Crook.
