THERE is a long time to go and a lot of rugby still to be played before Dave Rennie takes over as Glasgow Warriors coach, but the squad the New Zealander will have for next season is becoming clearer by the week.

Tommy Seymour and Tim Swinson yesterday became the latest key players to sign new deals with the club, joining others such as Stuart Hogg, Henry Pyrgos, Adam Ashe and Greg Peterson who have already penned new contracts recently. With stars such as Jonny Gray and Finn Russell having agreed earlier last year to extend their stay at Scotstoun, the vast majority of the squad for next season looks like being in place well before Rennie arrives in the summer to succeed Gregor Townsend as head coach.

Winger Seymour, 28, has signed a two-year extension that runs until May 2019, while second-row forward Swinson, 29, has agreed a three-year deal that has him under contract until May 2020. Seymour’s new contract will take him up to just before the next Rugby World Cup, and he believes that staying with the Warriors will help him achieve his ambition of playing in that tournament. Other factors that came into his decision to stay in Glasgow were the fact both he and his wife enjoy life in the city so much, and the quality of player welfare on offer from the Warriors.

“Of course welfare comes into it, as I play a contact sport for a living,” he said. “I want to keep playing at the highest level and play in the biggest games, so to have the knowledge that the club is looking out for you is massive. I’d love to play in another World Cup as I’m getting older, so knowing the club is in my corner is lovely to know.

“When you get further on in your career and you start having less years left than you’ve played, there’s more things that come into it. Obviously your family, and life after rugby. If the question was put to me are you happy with your decision, have you made the correct decision? Without a doubt. Absolutely.

“I’m incredibly happy here. I love this club, I care about this club, I love the guys I play with. My wife’s incredibly happy here.

“It always comes down to that factor, and that factor is the deciding one. Everything else is out of the equation.

“There are pros and cons, and in the six years I’ve been here Glasgow have built up one hell of a pros list, for both myself and my wife. And obviously she’s of massive importance to me and what she wants out of this.

“It’s not a single-person decision. It’s sometimes unfair because you’re almost making the decision and they have to like it or lump it. Sometimes you forget you’re making the decision for a lot more than just you.”

Swinson, meanwhile, said that he too was happy with the environment at Scotstoun, and that he looked forward to working with Rennie. “This is my second three-year contract with the Warriors and I've signed for that length of time because it's a great club to be at and there is a good buzz around the place,” the lock forward said. “With other guys signing new contracts it's good to know that the guys you get on well with on and off the pitch are going to be here.

“It'll be a different opportunity with Dave Rennie next season. We've had five years now with Gregor, so it'll be interesting to work with another coach.”

The immediate focus for both players is Saturday’s crunch Challenge Cup pool match against Munster, the squad for which will be announced tomorrow. The Warriors are three points behind the Irish province with two games to play, so if they lose at Scotstoun their only chance of going through to the quarter-finals will be to beat Leicester in their last game and qualify as one of the three best runners-up from the five pools.

Seymour believes that in previous seasons his team lacked the consistency needed to qualify, but implied they are in a better position to do so this time round, having won three of their four fixtures so far. “With regard to our previous years not qualifying, it comes largely down to the fact we can’t make up the time later on,” he said, referring to campaigns in which Glasgow lost their opening game. “We can’t get those points back.

“It’s a knockout competition pretty much from the word go. You lose one or two matches and you’re resigned to the fact it is not going to be your year. There’s so much pressure stacked on each game.

“In years gone past we’ve put in huge performances, performances of a side that could easily have made the last eight. However, stringing them together and compiling these wins back to back in Europe is something we struggle with.

“Without a doubt it’s vital to qualify. It’s something we put a lot of focus on and never shy away from saying how important it is for us and how much we want to be part of the last eight.”