IPSWICH Town manager Paul Jewell says he will offer both Jason Scotland and Grant Leadbitter new contracts.

The duo are both rapidly approaching the end of their current deals. However, with the club looking to cut its wage bill ahead of new Financial Fair Play rules, the future of two of the team’s higher earners is in doubt.

“I want to sign Grant Leadbitter and I want to sign Jason Scotland,” said Jewell.

“Whether we can do a deal which will satisfy them financially I don’t know – it will be their prerogative what they say, but we do want to keep them.”

Meanwhile, the Blues boss insisted that a clause in Scotland’s contract – which will automatically trigger another year on the same money if he starts two more games – will not stop him selecting the 33-year-old.

“If I think he should play he will play,” said Jewell.

“Jason is a brilliant lad to have around the place. He’s loud, he’s positive, he’s a good player.

“We’ll be trying to sit down and sort out some sort of deal for next season.

“Everyone knows he’s got a clause in his contract, so we’ll need to sit down and talk about what works best for both parties.

“I’ve spoken to him at length. Without ducking the issue, it’s not really right for me to discuss the full ins and outs.

“Jason knows we’d like to keep him, he’s quite happy to listen to what we’ve got to say and vice versa. It’s a situation that will hopefully be resolved quickly.”

Asked if Scotland might have to take a pay cut, Jewell said: “People in general, not just in football, have to realise the world is tough out there.

“We’ve got to try and live within our means. We’d love to be able to sign people on 20, 30, 40 grand a week because you’d get good quality, but we can’t because we’d go bankrupt.

“Listen, managers have got to be realistic. A lot of managers have been guilty of chasing that dream of getting into the Premier League over the years, but not worried about the long-term future of their club.”

He added: “It all depends on what type of club players want to be at.

“This is a terrific football club and we want people to want to be here. If managers, or players, or any member of staff don’t want to be here then they are better off moving. We only want people who are 100% committed to Ipswich Town and trying to get us to the next level.

“If people are committed and can agree a new deal then fantastic, if they can’t then let’s find someone else who can.”