YORK City boss Chris Brass is looking forward to finally sitting down with his players and discussing new contracts for next season.

Every City player is due to be out of contract at the end of this season because, under company law, the club were forbidden from offering new deals while the location of next season's home ground remained uncertain.

But, with today's announcement that the club board's Project Gold has secured a long-term stay at Bootham Crescent, Brass can now start the important business of retaining the players he wants to stay for the 2004/2005 campaign.

He said: "The news gives us security. We know we are going to be at Bootham Crescent for a long period and that the future of the club is safeguarded.

"When myself and Lee (Nogan) took over in the summer we were only in a position to offer short-term deals.

"It will still come down to pounds, shilling and pence and I'm sure the budget will be extremely tight and we will continue to cut our cloth accordingly.

"Hopefully, I can now sit down with the players once we know how much it will cost the football club.

"The board has backed me in everything within reason so far and I'm sure they will again. The future looks exciting.

"I can start planning ahead now - more than I have ever been able to and that's exciting as a manager. We have had so many false promises at this football club but this board has delivered."

City's players will also now have further incentive to impress between now and the end of the season with a number likely to be released if Brass believes he needs to rebuild over the summer.

The City boss said: "Not everybody will be offered longer deals but we are in a position now to retain players by giving them more security.

"I want to reward the players. we would like to keep everybody but, in football, that can't always happen.

"We will be rewarding the players that have done well and strengthening the other areas where we feel necessary."

Key defender Richard Hope recently indicated that he would have liked to have signed an 18-month deal before putting pen to paper until the end of the season.

Company law prevented such a contract in December but Hope will now be offered extended terms.

Brass said: "Players like Richard Hope have had to be patient but we inserted clauses into contracts that said as soon as the club was in order we would negotiate again and we will honour that."

The player-manager, himself, and assistant Nogan's contracts will also be up for renewal over the summer after the pair generously declined the offer of a two-year deal in July.

Brass said: "We were offered two-year deals but we said, to be fair to the club board, that there was no point in giving us longer deals just in case we did nor manage to pull anything off over the ground situation."

Updated: 13:58 Wednesday, February 04, 2004