Sheppey United boss Jack Midson is already thinking about next season.

There’s still plenty to play for in the current campaign, with Midson’s men challenging for an Isthmian South East play-off place.

But the manager has an eye on the future and is set to start talks with his squad this week.

“Next season may seem like a long way off, but it isn’t really,” said Midson, whose side are eighth, four points outside the play-offs, after Warren Mfula’s goal in a 1-0 home win against VCD on Saturday.

“It’s not easy for non-league clubs to give out contracts but we need to start signing people on.

“There will be a lot of talks this week and hopefully we’ll have some signings to announce.

“We’ve got a good, honest bunch here.

“We can’t offer the world but we’ve got a healthy budget.

“Players need to be realistic. They’ve got to want to play for the club, not go chasing the money elsewhere.

“We should keep the majority of them.

“We’re building something here, the potential is there and you want people to be here for the right reasons.

“It’s important to have plans in place and if you get people tied down instead of having to change 10 players every summer, it gives you that continuity.

“You won’t get everyone but I’d rather know where we are and then we can move on to other targets.

“I’m happy with 90% of the squad so, whatever happens, we’ll be in a good position.”

Mfula made it three goals in as many games since returning from injury with his winner against VCD.

The Vickers missed a second-half penalty as Midson’s side secured back-to-back victories.

Mfula has 24 goals in all competitions, leaving him three behind Burgess Hill striker Dan Perry.

“It’s great to have him back,” said Midson. “He’s getting fitter and sharper with every game he plays.

“We need to try and keep him fit. We can change shape slightly but there’s no reason to with Warren up top with his pace and desire to score goals.

“Having his name on the teamsheet gives teams something to think about.

“He wants to finish top scorer and I think he’ll probably get that because we do create a lot of chances.

“If he does finish top scorer, I’d like to think we’ll be up there.

“It was good to see him score again on Saturday.

“We didn’t play the free-flowing football we wanted, especially in the second half, but to be fair to VCD, they had a go.

“They played four up front and they keep coming at you.

“We had chances to put it to bed and they’ll probably think they should have got a point with the penalty. Luckily for us, they missed.”

Sheppey visit play-off rivals Sevenoaks on Saturday (3pm). Victory would move the Ites above their hosts.

“We need to respect them because they’re a good side,” said Midson.

“They were one of the favourites for promotion at the start of the season and we were right down there, so people have to realise what we’ve achieved.

“We believe we can go there and give a good representation of ourselves.

“Sometimes we haven’t done that this season but we need to be at our best on Saturday.

“They play on 3G, the same as us, so we’re used to that and we’ll be looking to get the ball down and play in certain areas.

“You don’t want to overplay, because you end up coming unstuck, but we’re definitely going there to get it down and create chances.”

Sheppey will check on the fitness of full-back Mamadou Diallo, who came off in the first half against VCD with a tight hamstring.

Striker Jake Embery should be available after missing last weekend through illness.