Albion Rovers manager Darren Young is hoping that the squad he has built won’t be torn apart as players threaten to leave over as little as a tenner a week.

Young wants to plot a raid on the play-offs for next season, but he is realistic enough to know that finances may dictate what sort of squad he is left with for next season’s League One campaign.

“We’ve offered everyone deals, and we want to keep that core of the squad together that have served us so well,” Young said.

“Teams with more money will always try to come in and get your players, and we know that other teams will have our players on their radar.

“We’ve offered them the best deals that we can, and if they want to sign on again then brilliant. “They know what they’re getting here, it’s a great dressing room with a great spirit, but sometimes money talks.

“You want to keep these guys for a reason, and you would love to give everybody a pay rise of an extra £20 or £30 a week, but the reality is if we go and give 17 or 18 guys even an extra tenner a week, then we’re losing a player from the squad.

“That’s the black and white of it. Players laugh and joke saying ‘it’s only a tenner gaffer’, and it might not be much to them, but it’s a lot to us when it comes to what size of squad we can have.

“I was in the same position myself when I was at Alloa with Paul Hartley, and I was probably one of those guys getting on to the gaffer about a wage rise, but until you’re in the position as a manager you don’t realise the difference even a tenner a week makes.

“Don’t get me wrong, they probably all deserve it, but at the same time it makes such a massive difference to our budget.

“The boys know that the grass isn’t always greener though, so I hope that most of them can stay.”

Young is resigned to losing at least a few bodies from his squad, but has found the process of bringing in new players a frustrating one so far.

He said: “We’ve identified targets, but they’re all signing up for other teams for more money! It’s proving difficult, and there might still be that stigma attached to Albion Rovers.

“We’re coming on leaps and bounds as a club though, comfortably staying at the top end of the table last year for most of the season.

“Hopefully people will sit up and take notice of that.”