Five players were offered new contracts this week, and Colchester United boss John McGreal is understandably hoping that all five will eventually sign on the dotted line for an extended stay.

Brennan Dickenson and Kurtis Guthrie, both success stories in their first seasons with the U’s last campaign, plus Academy products Frankie Kent, Tom Lapslie and Drey Wright, were all offered new deals just one week into the new season.

McGreal explained: “They had good seasons for us last season – we’ve identified and prioritised the players who we want to keep hold over.

“It then comes down to number-crunching, between (chairman) Robbie (Cowling) and (Director of Football) Tony (Humes) to come up with the deals for them.

“They’ve all been an asset to the club over the last year, and we want to look after that.

“Hopefully, Brennan (Dickenson) will be tied down to a contract by the time that he is fit again. That’s what we want to try and do.

“We know that Brennan had a fantastic season for us last year, and he’s doing unbelievably well with his comeback (from a serious knee injury) as well.

“All five had great success last year. As we know, a lot of boys left last summer, and these are the first five we have identified.

“I just look after the football side of things, and pick the teams. It’s up to Robbie and Tony to get the deals over the line,” added McGreal.

- Feature on Drey Wright

Speaking about his offer of a new deal, front-runner Wright said: “It came as quite a surprise, considering that I only signed on in the summer.

“It has only come to our intention this week, so it’s fairly new.”

Centre-half Kent explained: “The offer came out of the blue to me. It’s all in the early stages, and so we are just going through the normal process.

“But things are going well. It’s flattering and it’s nice to be offered a new contract, having come up through the Academy. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

“We have been lucky recently, with my year from the Academy and the year below and above, with players like Cameron James coming through, and Tom (Lapslie) before. We’re all clicking as one,” added Kent.