Blackburn manager Tony Mowbray has warned there is no guarantee that any of the club’s out of contract players will be offered deals for next season, with plenty to be decided over the coming weeks.
As things stand, there are six senior players whose contracts at Ewood Park are set to expire at the end of the season, in the shape of attacking duo Danny Graham and Dominic Samuel, midfielders Stewart Downing and Richie Smallwood, young left-back Sam Hart, and second-choice goalkeeper Jayson Leutwiler.
But while the likes of Downing, Graham and Samuel in particular have all had considerable parts to play with the first-team this season, it seems Mowbray is not yet in a position to make a decision on the futures of those players, given the uncertainty around a number of issues such as budgets, and his desire to improve his side.
How many out of contract players should Rovers offer new deals to?NoneSomeAll |
Speaking to the Lancashire Telegraph about the future of those out of contract players, the Rovers boss said: “What I do know is that this team has to move on and get better and not stand-still and we have to better next season than we are this season.
“I genuinely sit here today and don’t know what the answer is. I wouldn’t be assuming anything.”
Discussing the influence that budgets will have on the makeup of his side next season, Mowbray continued: “It will depend on the budget whether we have the opportunity to improve, it’s only right that every season we try and improve and bring in new players and create greater competition all over the pitch.
“Whether we can do that because we have some budget to go and buy some players, or whether we need to create some budget by letting players go and using their salary levels, or whether we have to cut the budget and promote some young players.”
