Just a week after Shaun Goater announced he was severing ties with Manchester City comes the news that Kyle Lightbourne's career is set for another twist.

Goater opted to leave Premiership City at the end of the season after his first team chances were restricted, but Lightbourne has been a fixture in the Macclesfield Town side that put together a great run recently to drag themselves out of relegation trouble in English Division Three.

In fact, the lanky striker is the club's joint top scorer in the league with ten goals so the news that the Silkmen will not be offering him a new contract will seem strange to many, albeit not to the player himself.

Lightbourne (34) was one of seven players told their services would not be required next season, the others being Lee Martin, Paul O'Neill, David Eaton, Paul Aldridge, Lee Hardy and Ben Abbey.

The Islander received the news from team boss Dave Moss earlier this week but does not appear in any way bitter.

"It was something I thought was possibly going to happen," he told The Royal Gazette yesterday. "I was more or less expecting it because I knew the situation I was in as far being at the club is concerned.

"I have had two years there and have done quite well this year but it's more my age.

"I have had a good season for Macc, but that's football, that's the way it goes. It's something you just have to get on with. I understand the way football operates."

The former Scarborough, Walsall, Coventry and Stoke City player has started 38 games this season, with a further five appearances from the substitutes' bench. As well as his ten league goals he has also netted three in cup competitions.

So despite the fact his axing was like a sword of Damacles hanging over his head, he has clearly not let it effect his performances on the pitch.

"I think it has been quite easy because I have been enjoying my football," he said. "That has been the biggest thing. Once you enjoy it it's easier to play."

Macclesfield have one more game left, on Saturday against Rochdale, and Lightbourne is determined to sign off in style by pipping team-mate Danny Whitaker to the top scorer trophy.

"I want to try and finish this season on a high and hopefully I can get a goal and try and beat Danny Whitaker, that's my aim at the moment," he said. "As a forward you want to end up as the top goal scorer."

Boss Moss said the decision not to offer Lightbourne a new contract had not come easy.

"It's the worst day in a manager's life and obviously for some of the players it's very disappointing," he said. "I've had to make some very tough decisions today and over the season.

"It's a tough job but one that has to be done. I've made the decision to make personnel changes. We've got seven players there who are out of contract and I will be looking to bring in five newcomers, so it's an opportunity for me to make some big changes."

Addressing Lightbourne specifically, the manager said: "Kyle is 34 and has had a great season for me and scored some great goals but by his own admission he is not getting any younger and maybe he's got one more season in him."

Overall, Lightbourne believes his time at Macclesfield has been a largely fulfilling one, despite at one point being placed on the transfer list and most recently being embroiled in a Football Association investigation after he was involved in an altercation with a fan - a matter he was ultimately not to be charged over.

"It has been a very good experience. They are a small club and were totally different from the other clubs that I have been to - I feel I have learned a lot," Lightbourne said.

But what of the future? After all, in a recent interview with the Mid Ocean News he had hinted he may decide to hang up his boots.

"I am going to come home and have a good holiday and I'll look at it then," Lightbourne said. "That's basically it at the moment."

The furthest he would be pushed on a possible retirement was to use the word "might".

"I don't want to commit myself to anything and then go back on it," he said. "I am just going to let time go by a little bit and go from there really."

Shaun Goater was part of a strong Manchester City reserves side that took on Sheffield Wednesday at Hyde United in the Barclaycard Reserve League last night. City won 3-0 but there were no details on scorers at press time.