Rangers face battle to keep stars

Stafford Rangers manager Matt Elliott has admitted he may struggle to keep the stars who were honoured at the club's Player of the Season awards.

Rangers' longest-serving player Andre Francis was the big winner last night, walking away with the manager and supporters awards, while goalkeeper Lee Evans and defender Jermaine Johnson took the players and directors awards respectively.

Francis would be keen to stay at Marston Road after becoming an integral part of Elliott's plans this season, but Saturday's relegation to the Evo-Stik Premier League from the Blue Square North will have a huge bearing on the future of the current squad.

It's not even iron-clad that Elliott will be in charge of the team for 2011-12, as chairman Mike Hughes is stepping down from his role this summer to be replaced by an incumbent who may or may not want the current manager to lead the club into the future.

But Evans could also stay as money does not have a huge bearing on his decisions, as the Rangers No 1 has his own business coaching soccer schools.

And Johnson proved his commitment to the cause during the season by turning down a move to local rivals AFC Telford, instead opting to lead Rangers into their ultimately-unsuccessful relegation fight.

However, the former Chelsea and Derby County youngster may decide that the third-tier of non-league football is too much of a step down to take.

There are also decisions to be made on the futures of players like Niall Maguire, Luke Keen and Sean Kinsella, who grew into first-team roles as the season wore on.

But Elliott is refusing to get too bogged down with thoughts of the futures until the time comes to make those all-important calls.

He said: "First and foremost, I have to decide which players I would like to stay but there won't be a mass clearout.

"However, with the players not being on contract, it's whether they want to stay, they might want to look elsewhere and find other parties but it's not a particularly good selling point, relegation as a player.

"I haven't had time to assess the situation yet but I will be speaking to the players to see what their views are.

"There are a certain number of players that have done well and I would like them to stay as part of the squad, but they might have other ideas.

"Like any club over a summer, there will be changes and there will be ins and outs.

"Things will become evident as time takes its course."

Rangers had spent three years in the Blue Square North but, before then, were in the Blue Square Premier.

Elliott came to the club as assistant to Tim Flowers last October after Chris Brindley left the club, but was promoted to manager when Flowers quit in January.

The former Leicester and Scotland defender has won more games this season than either of his predecessors but the team still went down by four points.

He said: "Relegation is never nice and it's frustrating, because a lot of effort has been put in by a lot of people.

"But you get relegated over the course of a season, not on the one game, and we have spent most of my time at the club in the bottom regions of the table.

"At some points we gave ourselves a chance, but the table tells we were not good enough."