Maidstone players are set to learn their future as the club look to build on promotion glory.

The most high-profile exit could be captain Shaun Welford, who has been linked with a move to Hythe after failing to make United’s squad for the play-offs.

But Stones are close to agreeing a new deal with centre-half Steve Watt and they also have an option to keep midfielder Alex Brown.

Boss Jay Saunders was due to meet chief executive Bill Williams and co-owner Terry Casey on Thursday to discuss plans for next season after Stones beat Faversham in the Ryman League Division 1 South play-off final last weekend.

While Saunders wants to keep most of his promotion-winning squad together, he’s facing some tough decisions.

He said: “I’ve already met with Steve Ward (assistant) and John Brook (coach) and we’ve had a chat about the ones we’re maybe going to move on.

“There’s a fine line between staying loyal to the players who got us up and looking to go with new lads. We’ll start letting everyone know where they stand. It might be we offer someone terms and they decide to move on.

“I also know there are rumours about one or two of my players. Shaun’s one of them. Hythe came in for him earlier in the season and the fact he wasn’t playing at the end of the season will only make those rumours stronger.”

Don't miss five pages of Stones play-off coverage in Friday's Kent Messenger