Almost 20 players out of contract next summer - talks will start after January

Key figures like Sam Hird, Gboly Ariyibi and Jay O’Shea are among 19 players who could depart at the end of their contracts next summer.

The Spireites boss expects the club to wait and see what happens in the January transfer window and where the club find themselves in League One at that stage before sitting down to iron out new contracts for any players they wish to retain.

He said: “I would suggest (talks will take place) after January.

“Once January gets out of the way we can start to understand where we might be in the league, hopefully we’ll be in a healthy position which always makes negotiations easier.

“We’ll see who is available to us.”

Ariyibi and O’Shea were two players subject to transfer speculation during the summer transfer window, and Ched Evans is likely to attract a lot of interest come January – but the club do have the option to activate a second year clause in his contract.