Thursday 5th May 2016
GAFFER Stevie Aitken is playing a game of patience as he waits for news on whether his players will re-sign.
The Dumbarton boss admitted that it is unlikely that any signatures will be obtained before the weekend, but is hopeful that players made offers will stay.
And potential new signings have also been in talks with the manager, although they too may take their time to arrive.
However, Stevie is also wary that his out-of-contract key men may be subject to overtures from elsewhere.
He said: “It won’t be this week. The players will go away and think about their offers and I will touch base with them over the weekend.
“We are confident that they will want to re-sign, but we are also sure there will be other teams watching our players.
“As we’ve had a successful season, I’m sure other clubs will have been doing what we’re doing and have players on the radar.
“I don’t want to mention any names regarding new players, but we are quite far down the road with about five or six signings.
“The season is only just finished – in fact, for some players we are talking to, it hasn’t finished yet. We’re not expecting anything to happen imminently, but we’re optimistic.
“We have to be patient, but I am certain that come the start of the season we will have a strong squad.”
But one player who won’t be returning to the club next season is Jon Routledge, whose switch to a club in Wales was announced earlier today.
Stevie was disappointed to lose the midfielder, but understood his reasons for wanting a new challenge.
He added: “You never want to lose good players, but Jon had come up from England and there is a big strain accommodation-wise.
“That was a big ask for Jon, and he had a good offer from a club in Wales who had been watching him for a while.
“It also gets him closer to his family, and he heads off to his new club with our very best wishes for the future.”
Andy Galloway