NEW YORK — Mets manager Terry Collins isn't ready to hang up his spikes.

With his contract set to expire, Collins told The Record he will remain in baseball in 2018, and has not considered retirement. Collins would prefer to remain with the Mets.

Both Collins and Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said no decision has been finalized, but one should be made shortly after the season ends.

“I’m going to be somewhere. If after we have discussions, if it feels I shouldn’t be here, then I won’t be," Collins said Tuesday afternoon. "We’ve created something here that’s pretty good. That's my take. I haven’t talked to anybody about it so we’ll go from there.”

Collins is in the last year of a two-year extension he signed after guiding the Mets to the World Series in 2015, and it appears the organization is ready to cut ties with the franchise leader in games managed. While there have been rumors he will retire after the season, Collins was insistent he will be with an organization in 2018.

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"I said it a couple years ago, I didn’t know how long I wanted to manage, what could be my last year – I never said anything that I was going to retire," Collins said before the Mets faced Atlanta. "I always wanted to work until I was 70. That’s two more years.”

He added: "I can put something to rest: I’m not going to go home and go fishing. OK. Whatever anybody thinks about if I’m going to be here or not, I can’t answer that. But I’m going to be doing something.”

Collins does not expect to have clarity until after the Mets conclude their season Sunday in Philadelphia. The Mets will miss the playoffs for the first time in three years, and Collins admitted it would be tough to go out on a poor season like this year.

“All of this stuff will be discussed at the end of the season. It always has been, and I’m not one to buck policies. I’m not going to throw my two cents in, what I think right now, because it won’t matter until we sit down and talk," Collins said. "I will tell you – I hope it continues but it’s been a lot of fun. I’m kind of sometimes baffled of how it’s got to this point. Everybody’s asking me do you go back and think about two years ago? I don’t, but obviously nobody else has either. We’ve done pretty good here. I’m going to go out and finish the season and do the best we can to win as many of the next five games we can, and sit down with my bosses who I respect immensely, and we’ll make decisions.”

Collins said last October it was possible this would be his final season if he was tired again, but the 68-year-old said Wednesday he feels "great."

He will turn 69 next May.

"I feel great, but I’m worn out, but you’re supposed to be worn out this time of year. Last year, your adrenaline is so high when you’re getting ready for the playoffs that when it goes away, it exhausts you as we’ve seen from the World Series experience," Collins said. "This year, I’m exhausted because of all the things we’ve had to deal with. I come in every day and it got to the point where what drama am I going to face today?"

If the Mets end Collins' tenure as manager after seven years, it's possible he could be dded to a major-league staff and he's also open to working in the minors again.

Collins has extensive experience managing in the minors, and also has served as a field coordinator as well as a director of player development.

"I'm a baseball guy. I’m not embarrassed about going to the minor leagues," Collins said. "I’m probably not going to be an advance scout, that’s one job that I disliked immensely. I will never do that again. But I’m not embarrassed about doing anything that I think can help a team win and get better."

If the Mets go in a different direction, Wednesday will be Collins' final home game with the team. Collins has insisted all week he is not thinking about whether this is his final week other than when he has been asked about it by media members.

He has, though, thought about what lies ahead.

“I will be in baseball somewhere," he said.