MANAGER Brian Little has expanded on his decision to announce such a long list of players available to leave the club following the Dragons relegation into the Blue Square Premier.

It is never an easy day for anyone concerned.

"There is a mix between young and experienced players who have been released, as we are stepping a little bit into the unknown next season," he said.

"But we are also aware that if we offer people contracts and then in two months time find they have signed for someone else, we are actually in a position of limbo for even longer.

"Making offers of contracts to players really does tie you down and means they are very much in control of the situation.

"I hope people understand that we also need to play the field as much as we can, to find out what is out there.

"It doesn' t mean that given a few weeks, once the dust has settled, then further conversations might not take place with one or more of the players currently been given the opportunity to go elsewhere.

"If you include the five contracted players on the transfer list, this now totals 22 players who have been given the opportunity to leave, in one capacity or another.

"As I have said, there could well be slight turnarounds on one or two, but at the moment I'm sitting on the fence waiting to see what Matty Done and Carl Tremarco opt to do, which is not comfortable for me.

"It goes without saying that these two younger players, are people who we feel might be potentially very good for us.

"I need to limit our uncertainty in particular areas, but I think it's fair to say that having spoken to Matty, he is especially keen to continue playing League football and I respect that. So that's a situation which we will need to keep an eye on and perhaps look for a wide player on the left hand side.

"I find it an uncomfortable position to be in and therefore I'm reluctant to have four or five on going situations like that. Therefore with our more senior players I have said, if there is something out there fine, if not, then we will talk about it further and see if there is something here for you.

"I can't though afford to have four or five players in control of the club's destiny, so that's why we have had to make the decisions we have made.

"In the case of the younger players like Jamie Reed and Alex Darlington, I feel that they have come up at a very uncertain time for the club. We do see them as being potentially good players in the future, but for the moment we need to have a squad of players who are ready to play week in and week out.

"If I keep young players at the club who are not going to be playing on a regular basis, then I'm actually hindering their development. So one or two pretty difficult decisions have been made in their cases, but we will do everything our power to help them to get new clubs.

"Unfortunately they have come out of contract at a time when our club is going into a season where every player needs to be ready for first team football.

"Hopefully, this will only be a 12-month blip in the club's history, but honestly I can't have young players around the place who aren't ready to play in the first team.

"I have said it before, they have been a good group of players but our position this season means we have had to alter things to try and improve our chances for next season."

Despite all the changes announced, the club still has 11 players under contract for next season - plus the other five placed on the transfer list.

If they all returned after the summer, along with the two offered new deals that makes 18 players, giving the manager scope to bring in about six new faces - plus a decision has not been announced about Steve Evans' future.