Town boss Paul Cook says he, owner Marcus Evans and general manager of football operations Lee O'Neill have already started to discuss who will be offered new contracts with more than half of those with professional deals having their terms coming to an end this summer.

Young right-back Barry Cotter departed the club earlier in the week, presumably to give him time to find a new side back in his native Republic of Ireland where the season is about to start, while 26 other players* have contracts which are up in the close season.

Asked whether contracts will start to be offered to those players he wants to keep hold of now rather than waiting until later in the campaign, Cook said: “One hundred per cent. If I felt now that contracts can be offered out to players that I believe can be here [next season], 100 per cent we’ll start offering contracts out.

“It’s something that Marcus the owner, myself and Lee are discussing daily, every two days. We’ve got a good meeting again tomorrow morning.

“There’s a lot of work going on behind the scenes and I think our supporters can be excited and happy with that.

“I don’t like lads being out of contract, I genuinely don’t. The reason why so many lads here are out of contract is because people aren’t happy with where we are. That’s the brutal truth of it.

“Because the majority of players I’ve worked with, I’ve never had them out of contract, I don’t allow it.

“Going forward, I’m screaming for lads to say to me, ‘I want to be here in the future, I want to be part of this success story’.

“And I think going forward we will start offering contracts out and I’m sure, as you can imagine, there will be other players leaving the club, 100 per cent.”

He added: “I will make those decisions. I don’t agree with the decisions [being delayed] because I’ve been in that player’s chair. I’ve sat in the manager’s too when a manager will tell me, ‘well, we don’t really know what’s happening, we’re going to wait until the end of the season’. I would be a bit more brutally honest with my players than that. You can be rest assured.”

*Luke Chambers, Cole Skuse, Stephen Ward, Emyr Huws, Freddie Sears, Kayden Jackson, Teddy Bishop, Alan Judge, Toto Nsiala, Janoi Donacien, James Wilson, Gwion Edwards, Aaron Drinan, Tristan Nydam, Ben Morris, Ben Folami, Harry Wright, Idris El Mizouni, Liam Gibbs, Bailey Clements, Levi Andoh, Adam Przybek, Bert White, Kai Brown, Zak Brown and Tommy Hughes.

As previously reported, Town have offered a new extended contract to Gibbs, who doesn’t have a year’s option on his current deal.

Photo: Matchday Images

StavangerBlue added 16:37 - Mar 24 If I was Cook I would be letting most of these guys go. I have not seen enough passion from them and I believe most do not want to be here. We need to get a winning mentality back into the team. Too often the team is just happy to turn up, play, collect the paycheque and go home not caring if we won or lost.
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Ipswichbusiness added 17:38 - Mar 24 Out; Chambers, Skuse, Ward, Sears, Huws, Drinan Retain; Jackson, Judge, Wilson, Edwards, Bishop, Nsiala, Donacien, Nydam (if fit) Don't know about the rest.
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runningout added 17:51 - Mar 24 We have been shabby for a long time. Not sure any want or should stay
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therein61 added 18:00 - Mar 24 If 4&8 are offered playing contracts then that will be me done this club will not get another £ out of me, also there is no need(for what big gob intended their joining the coaching team) their staying on in any shape or form we need positivity in this club which P.C is already generating some have to fade away and we move on.
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Unhinged_dynamo added 18:40 - Mar 24 I'd offer chambers a role in the academy coaching and let him progress like dyer is doing, keep bishop, judge, Wilson (make him capt) and Jackson as for the younger ones il trust cooks judgment on them as I don't know enough about them
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Wishing4arightback added 18:59 - Mar 24 Will be interesting to see if PC is looking at a Duv 1 team rebuild or a Championship stabilisation rebuilt. I think that will have a bearing g on who is kept. Regardless though it should be goodbye and a Genuine Thank you to Chambers. I am not the biggest fan of his on the field due to his constant error packed performances, BUT, he has been a good servant to the club and it should be recognised as such. I fear he will get another year as he does seem to hold a position over certain people at the club. Imagine how much stick he will get after another year, where he will be slower and as such embarrassed even more. If that does happen it will be toxic. Mr Chambers, leave with dignity and the respect of the fans due to what you have achieved. Dont bury your head in the sand and tarnish your legacy to the club even more than it is starting to do.

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Linkboy13 added 19:09 - Mar 24 Find it fascinating the opinions on here, almost every player in the squad has a fan who really rates him no matter how good or bad. Take for example Toto a really popular guy but is that a good enough reason to keep him. The problem is a lot of the players at the club have become part of the furniture for years and it's difficult for fans to accept they might not be around next season. There is a certain amount of click at the club and Paul Cook must not give in to this and make some very big decisions.

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SickParrot added 19:37 - Mar 24 I would get rid of Chambers, Skuse, Ward, Huws, Sears, Jackson, Nsiala, Donacien and Folami but I trust PC to get it right about who to offer new contracts to. With regard to the players who aren't at the end of their contracts the only ones that I would be sorry to lose (excluding the really young lads) are Norwood, Woolfie, Lancaster, Downes, KVY and Dobra. Regardless of who leaves, if Evans isn't going to sell he must back up the excellent appointment of PC by allowing his new manager to sign the players he wants.

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SheptonMalletBlue added 19:50 - Mar 24 Absolutely nail on head dockerblue!!
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jas0999 added 20:01 - Mar 24 What a situation. Mismanaged.
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shakytown added 20:58 - Mar 24 Arnie. To be fair Huws came back from a long injury spell into a team with no confidence and trying to play a formation that they were incapable of playing under a manager who just would not change tactics. i think he might find some of the old form in a team that is trying to be more positive and play further up the pitch.
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RobsonWark added 21:18 - Mar 24 We need to get rid of all those players that took the knee for BLM - the political activest group that wants to defund the Police. It's sooooo funny how they support this group yet when Blue Action turned up with a few flares at the training ground they called the POLICE!!
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RobsonWark added 21:25 - Mar 24 BeattiesBackPocket added 15:25 - Mar 24 "Bluechelmsford9 I've been saying this for years! We wonder why our debts so much bigger since evans came in it's due to the club letting assets go for b@gger all and we've done it as far back as Norris, leadbitter all players who's contracts were let run down and left for zero money!" We have no players with any resale value now. All the players we have are sh#te which is why we are where we are!!

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RobsonWark added 21:30 - Mar 24 90z added 12:37 - Mar 24 "I know people have their opinions on Chambers and mine is he shouldn't be offered a new contract as good a captain he may be" LOL!!! When has he been a good captain? He is sh"te on the pitch, blames everyone else for his mistakes doesn't even look interested when he plays. FFS he will take us down to non league football if he keeps getting picked to play for us!!

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RobsonWark added 21:34 - Mar 24 dunkz84 added 13:23 - Mar 24 "I would keep edwards, skuse, chambers, Jackson". I think you are a Naarwich City supporter in disguise!!
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rexron added 22:38 - Mar 24 If Sears get a new contract I will give up.
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BeattiesBackPocket added 22:54 - Mar 24 Robsonwalk Sh!te they may be but they WILL go to other clubs. Are you telling me that since day one with leadbitter Norris etc they've all been sh!te?? Yeah the current squad isn't good at all however even 100,000 for some of those like Edwards or whoever would've been better than 0 that's the point. Evans has scr@wed us with letting players leave for nothing and whilst I agree most of these need to go that a HUGE rebuilding if they all do and people need to get that. People need to get that unless evans supports him financially we will be relying on freebies there won't be much quality out there of you think who we'll be letting go for nothing! As I say letting assets go for nothing instead of even a nominal fee IS why our debt has tripled

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KiwiBlue2 added 00:51 - Mar 25 Well crunch time is looming. Chambers and Skuse should not be extended. Sears has struggled to make any impact, Ward is a one season stop gap, Jackson I feel is at his best partnered with Norwood but does PC plan to try that?, Nsiala puts in some good performances but is always a card risk, Donacien has hardly figured but might be persevered with as backup to K V-Y. With respect to those I would keep Norwood is the standout, Downes, K V-Y, Bishop, Edwards, Lankester, Dobra, McGavin, Woolfy, Kenlock (just). Dozzel (maybe), Wilson, Hawkins (possibly), Drinnan (developing), Judge (?). With respect to the keepers I would continue with Holy but let Cornall go. The nucleus should be supplemented with a commanding cb, 1 or 2 tough central midfielders (we need some muscle there) and another quality striker. Very interested to see what happens.......

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KiwiBlue2 added 00:58 - Mar 25 With respect to Huws he is a case on his own. Demonstrated superior ability when he first arrived but was undone by injuries. Obviously not having inside knowledge of his medical state it is difficult to be able to determine whether he is able to get back to what he was which is a great pity. No doubt PC will have the necessary information to be able to make a decision as to whether he stays or goes so will have to wait......

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ChrisFelix added 06:24 - Mar 25 Our club has been in decline since the last playoff year.We have a new manager who clearly knows what he wants. I suspect that this means we will see both Skuses & Chambers no longer as part of our first team squad after May
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Europablue added 07:06 - Mar 25 RobsonWark As much as I disagree with taking the knee for BLM due to the politics behind it and the general concept of replacing kick it out with a movement just for black people, a lot of footballers are either uneducated or not very bright. You don't hire footballers for their academic ability, so I don't think it would be good for the club to punish them. I would like for the FA to back kick it out more strongly and ban shows of support for BLM like they do for all other political movements.

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Michael101 added 09:14 - Mar 25 We have oversized squad which needs trimming ,but will Evans let a player go for nothing?? Cook may want rid of him but Evans might say give him another year in the hope he can sell him.then nobody comes in for him and next year we have the same problem.hope cookie can get through to Ebenezer evans
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therein61 added 16:36 - Mar 25 Throughout(starting with big gob) the last few years average players(favourites) have been handed fat contracts for continual point costing failure resulting in a lot of old players who we would have to pay another club to take away, classic head in the clouds mismanagement.
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BeattiesBackPocket added 18:21 - Mar 25 Michael101 evans has been letting players contracts run out for over a decade back to leadbitter and Norris then people wonder why our debts got so much bigger
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Texastom added 19:27 - Mar 25 In all honesty, we need a clean slate, you dont keep players that are used to constant failure and are frankly poor. NO to all of them listed.
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