New Colchester manager John Ward is hoping to persuade David Prutton and Phil Ifil to sign new deals.
Midfielder and Ifill mulling over new contracts
New Colchester United manager John Ward is hoping to persuade both David Prutton and Phil Ifil to sign new deals with the club.
Experienced midfielder Prutton has been linked with a move to League One rivals Brighton, whilst former Tottenham defender Ifil is also out of contract this summer.
However, former Cheltenham boss Ward believes that both players would have been anxious to see who was installed as Aidy Boothroyd's successor before putting pen-to-paper on a new contract.
"We spoke to David Prutton and Phil Ifil before Aidy left and as far as I'm aware those offers are still on the table for them," Ward told
skysports.com.
"I don't think there is any change in that, but I'm sure that is on the thoughts of players more than the football club because they will probably have wanted to see what was going to happen with the football club before signing."
Disappointment
The Us were left with a bitter taste from last season after their play-off dreams evaporated due to a torrid run of just one win in 13 and Ward insists there will be mixed reviews from supporters.
He added: "People with a longer term view will see it as an improvement, as we finished 12th the previous season, so to finish four places higher is progress.
"However, the fact that we were in that top six for most of the seasons means that people will also see it as a disappointment.
"It will be a mixed bag in terms of whether people regard it as success or failure, but it was the fourth highest finish in the club's history.
"However, I can fully understand why people will feel disappointed with how the campaign finished and I'm included in that group.
"It was particularly disappointing, especially considering how abruptly we fell away from the top six.
"With eight or nine games to go we were in a good position and still had an outside chance of catching up with the top two, although that would have been tough for us, but it was still a possibility."
