Colchester United manger Joe Dunne revealed last night that the out-of-contract trio of Mark Cousins, Ryan Dickson and David Wright had not yet signed new deals, although the Irishman is hopeful that attacker Dominic Vose will put pen to paper on a new contract.

Back-up keeper Cousins, left-back Dickson and midfielder Wright are all out of contract this summer, and it is likely that all three are weighing up their options, looking at other potential clubs. Dunne said: “It’s a waiting game. We have to move on, and there are two positions in particular that are a priority to fill” – those two positions are likely to be right-back and left-back, following the departure of skipper Brian Wilson and Dickson’s failure to sign a new deal. Dunne continued: “It has not yet got to the stage where I am sitting down and talking to potential new players, face-to-face, but I have had discussions with agents and we have pinpointed who we want.

“Other clubs are releasing players in bulk, some of them 10 or 12 players, so there will be a lot of competition.” With regards Cousins, Dickson and Wright, Dunne said: “It’s just as we started. They will have a break and a rest before the summer challenges.” Meanwhile, the U’s will entertain Championship club Charlton in a pre-season friendly on Wednesday, July 30.