Reports elsewhere have suggested that there are only four players who are on full contracts and that the bulk of the squad is free to leave the club at any time.

In actual fact there are only three players on full contracts – but there are EIGHT which Lewes are entitled to take up a further year's option on.

The three players who still have a year of a two-year contract to run are: this season's top goalscorer Paul Booth, and midfielders Gary Holloway and Tom Davis.

The eight players the club are entitled to take a further year's option on are: Dale Binns, Jamie Cade, Steve Elliott, Matt Groves, Lewis Hamilton, Leon Legge, Stuart Robinson and Steve Williams.

If Lewes Football Club decide to take up that option on any of those players they will be tied to the club for a further 12 months. But Express Sport understands that the club must take up that option by a certain date (believed to be on or around May 10) or those players will become free agents.

The news that there should be more familiar faces on the pitch next year will no doubt come as much-welcomed boost for Rooks fans shell-shocked after the events of the last seven days.

Not so welcoming is the news that crowd favourites such as Steve Robinson, Ian Simpemba and Andy 'Jukebox' Drury are indeed out of contract.

Chief executive Martin Elliott said, "The club took the decision to allow some players' contracts to run out at the end of this season.
"This was to provide the club with flexibility in terms of addressing the potential reorganisation that will be planned for the 2008/09 season.

"There are three players who are still under contract and the new management team will be talking to them – and where relevent or possible, the non-contract players or those players where we have an option of a further year."

When asked about supporters' fears of a mass exodus of players, director Kevin Powell said, "There could be and there may not be. At the moment we don't know.

"There will be some players who will be loyal to Steve King, there will be some players who want the opportunity to play at conference level and who will give the new guy a chance."

Despite the resurfacing of a news item on the Lewes FC website from a year ago saying King had been offered a two-year contract, the directors insisted no deal had been made in writing and that there was instead a verbal agreement between the two parties. They said that, because there was no written contract, the manager could not be 'sacked'.

"It was more a parting of the ways," said Elliott, "more like a redundancy.

"Steve has been fantastic for Lewes Football Club. He's done a super job.

"(But) not only have we given him a job that he's always dreamt of, we gave him a budget which he's been able to work well with and get some good players in – and he's achieved great success on the pitch.

"We've helped him out on a personal footing as well, and we have honoured the agreement we had with him.

A non-contractual payment has been made to Steve in recognition of the good service the he has provided to the football club.

"He has great ambition. He's going to get another cracking job in football."