HEREFORD United director of football Graham Turner has been left with the usual crop of hard decisions as he decides on whom to offer contracts for next season, writes Richard Prime.

The Bulls boss will doubtless be releasing some of his current staff to make way for new faces as he seeks to pep up his misfiring attack.

United failed to score in nine of the season's final 10 matches and slipped from a position on the brink of the play-offs to their final 16th place.

"Players who remain with us have, obviously, got to improve and we have to bring in some fresh faces who are going to improve the side, otherwise we will finish in the same position next season," said Turner.

But the Bulls chief is under no illusions that it will be easy to attract the right sort of player to bolster a potential promotion bid.

"We know the truth, geographically we are at a disadvantage," he said. "Many players, particularly those with young families, want to stay nearer home.

"There are a lot of clubs paying a lot more money and, finally, status-wise we realise that we are not the biggest club in the league. Therefore when players have got a choice between us and, say, Peterborough, Wrexham, MK Dons - clubs of that nature - they are far more likely to finish up there than here.

"But over the years, we have been able to produce players who have done well for us.

"We work hard and have monitored a lot of games this past season and we have learned a lot from this season."

One of the players on Turner's shopping list may well be Steve Guinan, whose release was confirmed by Cheltenham Town this week.

Meanwhile, two of the stars of United's promotion winning side last term will be figuring in this season's Conference play-off final.

Craig Stanley's Morecambe will take on Exeter City, for whom Adam Stansfield netted in the semi-final against Oxford, at Wembley on May 20.