Coleman wants Symes stay

Symes: Out of contract

Accrington Stanley manager John Coleman is hoping to see highly-rated out-of-contract striker Michael Symes sign a new deal with the club.

The former Everton and Shrewsbury Town forward impressed this season as Stanley made a surprise bid for the play-offs, falling short towards the end of the League Two campaign.

However, his performances have not gone unnoticed, with Derby County just one of a host of clubs looking at him.

But with fellow striker Robert Grant moving to Scunthorpe United this week, Coleman told skysports.com he wants to get thing sorted soon.

"Dean Winnard has agreed a new deal and we will be hoping to get everybody else tied up in the next week or so," he said.

"We aren't going to beat around the bush. We will make firm offers to the players and stick to them.

"We will have to give them deadlines to decide whether they want to stay or go because we need to know where we stand."

Interest

A number of players under contract are also attracting interest, with defender Darran Kempson receiving admiring glances from other clubs and Coleman insists expectation levels should not rise too much after their play-off chase last season.

"Players have to do what is best for themselves and the club has to weigh up what is best for them," he added.

"You don't go into an off-licence with five pounds in your pocket expecting to come out with a bottle of Cristal.

"So, you have to be realistic in what you aim for and then performance expectations have to follow what you have got to work with.

"We have over-performed this season and how long we can continue to do that remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure, we will be working hard to make sure that we improve once again, as we have done for the previous eleven years I've been at the club."