Players leaving in the summer 'inevitable' as Dons contract talks continue

The Dons boss is known to keep contract talk close to his chest, not willing to reveal contract lengths, nor when extensions have been signed, believing it not relevant to the public domain.

That is not to say, though, that contracts have not been discussed, both amongst the management team and with players themselves. Tisdale though says it is not as simple as offering a player a new deal after playing well.

He explained: "There is a lot of football to be played in the next few months, inevitably some players will go at the end of the season, let go or sold or choose to leave. That's just what happens. It's not always down to who you think is the best. It's really complex and you can get these things wrong easily.

"We discuss it virtually every week, and we have done since August. The dynamic is always sensitive – it's not always the players who are playing the best that you talk to first. It's the business, really. You're spending your money, as a manager, trying to work out what life would be like this Saturday, but also in two years' time.

"It's not as straight forward as you think. You're dealing with people's lives, families, mortgages, states of mind. It's a really difficult topic to balance all the time.

"We've got some players who are in contract, some who are out, in different moments of their careers. I just want players to do well for themselves.

"You can't sign everyone all the time, it comes down to value for money."