New Newport County manager Terry Butcher has cut short his family holiday in order to finalise the retained list at Rodney Parade.
"I went away after the final home game of the season on a family holiday that was booked long before I took the Newport job" Butcher explained.
However the new County manager has now returned and will set about the process of contacting each player to discuss their future over the next 48 hours. "We need to sort the player contracts out, it was imperative that I got back, my family are still out in Florida, but I've come back a week early to crack on with the job in hand."
"The player contracts need to be sorted out this week, the players need to know, and the club needs to know as well so we can plan for pre-season and build for the new season."
The former Ipswich and England defender knows who he wants to remain at Rodney Parade having watched a number of games at the end of last season, and he's also taken advice from people within the game. "I've spoken to a number of people about the players, I've watched a few games and watched plenty of DVDs. I know the numbers I want to have, I know the budget I need to work to, it's an exciting time.
Butcher will keep his retained list close to his chest until he has had the opportunity to speak to each player individually. "I'll be getting in touch with every player personally and letting them know what our plans are" Butcher said "it's only fair on the players, they've got families and careers to think about."
"There will be players who move on, that's inevitable at any football club at this stage in the season. I've got to make tough decisions, but I've got to get on with it, I've got to build a squad for next season. I've got my own ideas and I need to start to implement those."
As well as finalising the player contracts Butcher also has the task of arranging the pre-season schedule in time for the return of the players. "The players will report for training on 29th June and I need to make sure that we're all set up and ready to go from that date. Our pre-season is starting to take shape, we're trying to build the pre-season fixtures to finish with the stronger opposition, so that we can hit the ground running come the start of the season."