SWINDON Wildcats head coach Ryan Aldridge is already thinking about building his side for next season and is keen to keep the majority of his current squad together.

Wildcats have moved quickly this week to secure the signatures of defenceman Paul Swindlehurst and netminder Thomas Murdy for next season, and Aldridge is pleased to have been able to keep the youngters at the club.

“Paul has been great for us this season, he reads the game well and is great in one on one situations,” he said. “I am sure he will be a top British defenceman in the next few years and i am delighted for him to stay another year with the club.

“He is a key signing for us and i am looking forward to seeing him improve even more next season as Brit defenecmen like Paul do not come around too often.

“We wanted to move quickly to keep both him and Thomas here because they have done very well, and we are pleased to have kept them.”

Aldridge is also planning to sit down with other members of his squad in the next few weeks, with a further player possibly set to re-sign after the weekend. “We would like to keep a lot of the guys together but we will have to see,” he said. “We will talk to some of the key people and take it from there, but you never know. Some guys might be set on moves elsewhere or want to play in a better league, and we can’t stop that.”

But while thoughts have already started to turn to next season, Aldridge insisted he and his squad are still focused on the current campaign, and Saturday night’s clash with Sheffield Steeldogs at the Link Centre (face-off 5.45pm).

“After a good performance last weekend against Manchester we need to kick on and win these sort of games now.

“Our home games are vital and we need to put on a show and let our fans and everyone around us know what we can do.

“The thing we did so well against Manchester was that we played for every minute of both games, and we need to produce that again.

“They are a good side with a good netminder who are up there for a reason, so it will be a tough night for us.”