FOLLOWING Aldershot Town's somewhat anti-climactic failure to reach the play-off final last week, Kevin Dillon has already started to prune his squad ahead of the 2010/11 season.
"It's that difficult period when you have to tell players their futures," said the manager. "There are positives and negatives at this time of year. There are players who have been offered new contracts balanced with those whose futures will have to lie elsewhere.
"The budget is always important when decisions are made and I will always work with the budget I'm given because that is important.
"We will be looking for a squad of 20 or so players for next season. We have offered new deals to a number of the current squad. Of course, we hope that those players will want to stay and help build on the good work that has been achieved this season.
"There have been many positives and that has helped set a platform as we look ahead to the future.
"It's important, however, to ensure that for every player who leaves, we will replace in those areas."
Dillon was keen to stress the importance of the Players Transfer Fund that enabled him to strengthen his squad during the season. "It has been a godsend and I'm truly grateful to those who have organised the fund and, of course, the magnificent backing it has been given by the supporters.
"Without it, we may not have been able to sign the likes of Dean Morgan and Aaron Brown and both those players were crucial in the run-in to ensure we reached the play-offs."
The players already under contract are Reece Connolly, John Halls, Ben Harding, Ben Herd, Danny Hylton, Marvin Morgan and Anthony Straker.
New contracts have been offered to Aaron Brown, Anthony Charles, Scott Donnelly, Kirk Hudson, Andy Sandell, Louie Soares, Dave Winfield and Jamie Young.
Leaving the club are Chris Blackburn who is joining Wrexham, Lewis Chalmers, John Grant, Dean Howell, Mikhael Jaimez-Ruiz, and Omer Riza.
Marlon Jackson has returned to Bristol City after his loan spell, while Damian Spencer is heading back to Kettering Town.
Dean Morgan is now a free agent after completing his loan spell from the MK Dons and Aldershot have offered him a contract.
Of the players leaving the club, only Blackburn was a first-team certainty, the versatile defender switching effortlessly between full-back and central defence.
Jaimez-Ruiz was first-choice keeper for much of the season before losing his place to Jamie Young, manager Dillon preferring the latter's consistency to the Venezulean's undoubted shot-stopping ability.
Scott Donnelly, one of the players considering his options, has apparently attracted interest from other clubs and Dean Morgan, on the evidence of his outstanding form in the latter part of the season, would also not be short of an offer or two.
Aldershot's pre-season friendlies (all July): Tues 13 – Bath City (away) 7.45pm; Sat 17 – Didcot Town (away) 3pm; Tues 20 – Salisbury City (away) 7.45pm; Sat 24 – Bristol City (home) 3pm; Tues 27 – Watford (home) 7.45pm; Sat 31 – tba (home) 3pm.
* After their smash-and-grab raid at the EBB Stadium, Rotherham repeated their 1-0 win over Aldershot at the Don Valley last Wednesday and it is the Yorkshiremen who meet Dagenham & Redbridge in the League Two Final at Wembley on Sunday.
Rotherham punished a defensive howler for their late winner at Aldershot, after the home side had forced the pace for most of the game.
In the second leg, the Millers cruised through, trebling their lead against an Aldershot side who seldom looked like conjuring up a goal.
More than 700 loyal Aldershot fans made the long journey north, making sure they were heard in a record crowd of 7,082, but it was an intimidating atmosphere for the visitors, while Ronnie Moore's men lapped up the deafening support.
Aldershot looked unlucky not to be awarded a penalty when Dave Winfield seemed to be hauled over inside the box. Kevin Dillon certainly thought it was a penalty and remonstrated with the officials as they went off at half-time, getting himself shoved by Rotherham's Pablo Mills in the process.
The manager no doubt thought that Aldershot's best chance had gone because by then Rotherham led 2-0 on aggregate.
Adam Le Fondre, who had scored in the first game, again made the breakthrough. He had already hit the bar with an audacious chip, when he scored from close range on 43 minutes after Mikhael Jaimez-Ruiz had parried a header from Ian Sharps. It was the striker's 30th goal of the season.
Aldershot had to commit more men forward in the second half and paid the price on 68 minutes when the shaven-headed Kevin Ellison, who had played the pantomime villain in the first game, headed in a cross from Nicky Law. Three-nil overall, and there was no coming back from that.
Rotherham: Warrington; Lynch, Sharps, Fenton, Gunning, Law (Warne 83), Harrison, Mills, Ellison, Taylor (Broughton 73), Le Fondre. Subs (not used): Annerson, Green, Marshall, Walker, Bell-Baggie. Booked: Gunning.
Aldershot: Jaimez-Ruiz; Herd, Straker, Brown, Charles (Spencer 74), M Morgan, Halls, Donnelly, Jackson (Hudson 59), D Morgan, Winfield. Subs (not used): Soares, Hylton, Harding, Spencer, Connolly, Clement. Booked: D Morgan.
Attendance: 7,082.
Referee: Fred Graham.