Officially, Glenn Hoddle is still not saying whether he will remain as manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers next season.
But Hoddle last night hinted at an extended stay at Molineux by outlining two key pieces of Wolves' plans for next term.
As well as revealing he would have no hesitation in offering a new deal to captain Paul Ince, the Wolves boss also agreed to let striker Dean Sturridge move to Queens Park Rangers by telling him he was "no longer part of the club's long-term plans".
Thanks mainly to a succession of injuries, Sturridge has never quite recaptured the form he showed when he bagged 20 goals he scored following his bargain £350,000 move from Leicester City three seasons ago. And, although Sturridge featured in Hoddle's first game in charge at Watford three months ago, the form of Kenny Miller and Carl Cort has kept him out.
"He hasn't been in the side of late," said Hoddle. "And he wasn't going to be offered a contract here. To be fair, he's had some injury problems and he's not really been fit enough to show me what he could do to earn a new contract. And sometimes the best thing to do is be honest with players and say 'You're not part of the long-term plans here'."
With regard to his captain, Hoddle said: "Nobody around the club would be saying Paul's not playing well enough to warrant another year. He's been very influential in every game he's played since I've been here
"It's a personal decision for Paul. After all, you've got Alan Shearer who seems determined to say he's finishing at the end of the season.
"But, while Paul's contributing in such a positive way, playing so well and still clearly enjoying his football, I'm sure there's another season in him.
"A lot of it comes from his drive and his passion to actually demand that out of himself and his team-mates.
"It's not the playing that's the problem. It's the training. Anyone would want to go out in front of 28,000 and play. It's the days in between that add to the pressure.
"But the quality is still clearly there. Paul sees the picture much quicker than most players in this league, because he's been a top, top quality player.
"Those things never leave you as a player. It's just whether you can get around the pitch and influence the game and he's still managing to do that."
Meanwhile, Hoddle will be accompanying Wolves' highly promising youngsters tonight when he heads back to Pride Park - scene of the first team's 3-3 classic 16 days ago - for the FA Youth Cup quarter final against Derby County.
"It's the first time I'll have had the chance to see the lads perform away from home, with the different pressures that brings," said Hoddle. "But, if it's anything like the game we had over there at the start of this month, it will be quite a night."
