Ashford manager Lloyd Hume has handed two-year contracts to a trio of key players as he presses on with plans for next season.

Centre-half Will Moses, left-back Joey Taylor and forward Louis Collins have committed their futures to the Nuts & Bolts.

And Hume, who is in talks with other members of his squad, couldn’t be happier to get the deals done.

“Getting these three lads on contract is massive for us,” he said.

“They’re young players, good players, and people we want to build the team around.

“It’s absolutely crucial we start doing business like that, so we can build around what we’ve got for next year.

“They’re the first three I wanted to get done and they’re players I think will be part of the club for a long time.

“Putting them on a year doesn’t give us any building blocks and we want a solid foundation.

“I’ve given them two years but I’m hoping they’re here for the next five, six, seven years, and that’s the plan.

“I was talking to them when Danny (Kedwell, ex-boss) was still here and they wanted to see how it went after Danny’s exit.

“To be honest, I didn’t need to talk them into it, they want to be here.

“We didn’t have to chuck a load of money at them, they just want to be part of what we’re doing for the next few years because they can see we want to push on.

“For me, Joey Taylor’s the best left-back in the league.

“Will Moses will be the best centre-half at this level and the level above, he’s been absolutely outstanding this year and he’s only going to get better.

“And Louis Collins, if you believe in Louis, and you give him a little belief, he’s unplayable most of the time.

“He’s been outstanding this year so to get all three of them all on contract, it’s a really good starting point for us to get other people on contract.

“I want 10 or 11 done - I’m not talking about contracts - but 10 or 11 confirmed for next year by the time we get to mid-April, so we know what we’re doing in the summer.”

While Hume has secured the services of three younger players first, there’s still plenty of room for experience.

That means keeping the likes of Gary Lockyer, who’s closing in on the club’s goalscoring record, and midfielder Michael West, currently on loan from Whitstable.

“Age for me isn’t a barrier either way,” said Hume.

“Experience is great but ultimately it’s what you do when you’re on the pitch.

“I don’t see old or young as a negative, it’s whether they’re good enough.

“Michael West is someone I also want next year, and Gary Lockyer is someone I want next year.

“There’s a few plus-30s in our team who will be a massive part of what we do next year as well.

“I’ve got three done and people might be going, ‘When he’s going to talk to me?’ but I’ll be talking to all of them.

“Everyone in our squad is part of what we’re doing and we just need to add two or three to it in my opinion to have the right mentality next season to finish where we want to finish.”

Ashford made it back-to-back wins in Isthmian South East last weekend, beating Sheppey 2-1 at home, but Hume wasn’t happy.

He felt standards slipped after Craig Stone and West opened up a 2-0 lead, with Lekan Majoyegbe replying.

Hume, who takes his side to relegation-threatened Phoenix this Saturday (3pm), said: “I wasn’t overly enamoured with the performance.

“I was until we went 2-0 up and then I think we were a little bit arrogant as a team, which I don’t want to see.

“I think a lot of people thought I’d be really pleased after the game but I was a little bit angry if I’m honest.

“I think we’ve got to be better than that if we want to compete next year and we’ve got to push on in games and kill games off.

“They all came in the dressing room a little bit buoyant - we’d just beaten Sheppey, so I get that - and it was a case of sit down and listen because I wasn’t happy.

“The week before we were outstanding against Burgess Hill and that’s the mentality we have to carry through.

“What worried me about the Sheppey game was our arrogance towards winning and then that makes me worry about Phoenix on Saturday.

“They’re a team that are fighting for their lives and will battle and we can’t go there complacent in any way.

“We’ve got to go there with the right mentality otherwise we won’t pick up any points.

“Arrogance might be a strong word for it but it’s about putting teams to the sword and that’s not let’s beat Sheppey 5-0, it’s win 2-0, have good game management, do your jobs properly and don’t look in danger.

“We went 2-0 up and there was an expectation that we’ll win this game and I thought we disrespected our own jobs.”

Ashford could have a fully fit squad to pick from if Noah Carney comes through training after a thigh injury.