Neil Warnock is now facing two more obstacles as he tries to build a squad for next season. Ross McCormack is likely to reject the club’s offer of a new contract and we’re facing competition for the signature of Joel Ward from Crystal Palace, Burnley and Ipswich Town.

McCormack still has a year to go on his current contract, but so far he has rejected the club’s offer of an improved deal, so the chances are he will become the latest player to be sold to a rival club. The Yorkshire Post quoted Warnock as saying “It’s unlikely he’ll sign. We’ve offered Ross an increase but his representatives made it clear that they’re looking for a more significant increase after the season he’s had. We’ve agreed to play it by ear and see where things go from here but he’s going into his last year and it might be that people come in for him now.”

And we could see eve more key players departing before the new season starts, as Warnock also confirmed that Snodgrass and White have yet to agree to the extended deals put before them by the club. “They’ve all had offers but there’s no guarantee that any of them will re-sign. That’s the nature of football and it’s their prerogative. It’s a big concern because you want to keep your better players. I can’t say hand on heart that any of them will re-sign – but they might all re-sign.”

Meanwhile, we could also be frustrated in our attempts to sign Portsmouth defender Ward, as three other Championship clubs are now competing for his signature. Warnock has already had talks with the player and Ward was believed to be happy to come to Leeds, as he’s good mates with Jason Pearce, who has already come to Elland Road.

But the 22-year-old has yet to commit himself to joining Leeds and over the next few days he is going to speak to three other clubs. And with Ken Bates’ pay structure proving to be so uncompetitive it’s a fairly safe bet that at least one of them will offer him more than the pay packet he could pick up in Yorkshire.

We have to be concerned about all of this, as Warnock tries to build a squad that will challenge for promotion next season, as we are still struggling to keep hold of our better players and attract new talent to the club. When Warnock took the job Bates promised him that he would be able to recruit the players he needed, but now he needs to put his money where his mouth is.

 Is this club going to achieve it’s potential, or are we in for yet another season of frustration?

Photo: Action Images

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