Johnson thinks duo will stay

Gary Johnson is confident two of Yeovil's key players will be on board for their Championship adventure in 2013/14.

Winger Sam Foley and midfielder Kevin Dawson were mainstays in the starting line-up last season having signed from Newport and Shelbourne respectively and deals are now on the table for the pair. "I am very confident they will both stay at the club," he said. "We've put figures to them already and their representatives and the main thing is they want to be here and we want them here. "They've been two players that have done very well from nowhere really with all due respect to them, they are good lads and good footballers and I'd like to give them the opportunity to prove themselves in the Championship." Foley and Dawson are the perfect examples of Johnson's gambles on players paying off with neither having played in the Football League last season. And the former Bristol City boss says it gives him a real buzz to see how much it means to the players. He explained: "Joe Edwards comes into their category as well, he wasn't playing for Bristol City and there are a lot of them who are probably gambles if you like. "When they come off it is great for me and great for them and their families. I get really choked up when their families come up to me and say thanks for giving them that opportunity." Meanwhile, Johnson confirmed that Lewis Young and Nathan Ralph have been offered short-term deals at Huish Park after injury-disrupted campaigns. "They have been offered short-term contracts at the moment until they prove their fitness," he said. "I think both still have that potential and I don't want to give up on them."