BRAINTREE Town will wait until their Vanarama National League status is confirmed before finalising deals with players over contracts for next year.

Following their 3-0 defeat at York City last weekend, the Iron are still engaged in a battle against relegation into the National League South and will be hoping to take a significant step towards safety when they host Dover Athletic tomorrow (kick-off 3pm).

With their position still uncertain, chairman Lee Harding said manager Hakan Hayrettin and the club are having to wait before offering deals to members of the squad who they wish to hold on to.

He said there is a desire to avoid the situation of 12 months ago when players were not tied in to deals and all bar three of the first-team squad departed over the summer, but until they know where they will be operating, they are having to play a game of patience.

Harding said: “Hakan and I have discussed the progress of the squad during his time with the club and I think a number of them will be offered deals for next season and if not deals straight away then the opportunity to come back in pre-season.

“As things stand, it’s not possible to finalise that, though, as we don’t yet have our National League status secured.

“We have five games to play still and I think we need to win two of them.

“So we have to be circumspect with deals as not knowing what level we will be at means there is an element of caution about it.

“I still think some in the squad are playing for their places next season.

“Some have responded magnificently to Hakan coming in; Jack Midson for one has been a great leader on the pitch with his performances, Sam Beasant is another and there have been others as well.

“But there are still others who we are looking at and thinking ‘are they going to be in our squad next year?’ “If we are not in the top division next year, then we will naturally have less resources available and maybe the players we have will come from a different catchment area so they are more local rather than national.

“However, we are still confident that we will stay up and we are all working hard towards that end.

“There have been some good performances like the one at Tranmere where we played well, but there have also been disappointments like against Woking.

“It’s all swings and roundabouts and it’s all about getting things to click together as there are some enormous games coming up.

“It’s difficult to say to players at this stage that these are the deals we’re offering because people’s first thoughts are about money and what level you’re playing at and we don’t know them yet.

“Players will naturally also want to speak to other clubs and I have no problem with people showing ambition, but I think a lot of the lads are enjoying their football at Braintree Town.

“I have spoken with a number of them and the one thing that we have this season is a united dressing room.

“There is good banter and team spirit and all these things are key and important to us.

“I know a lot comes down to status and money, but equally, if there are players who think that the grass may be greener elsewhere, then we will do out like we have in the past and look to bring in the next group of successful players.

“There is a lot of work going on behind the scenes and we are discussing a lot of things.”