BRYAN HUGHES insists contract talks are on the backburner with Wrexham embroiled in the National League promotion race.

The race for the title is hotting up with the Reds, unbeaten in five matches, currently holding a two point lead at the top of the table with just 11 games remaining.

Hughes won’t let anything affect the promotion push but is mindful that many members of his squad are out of contract at the end of the season.

Only seven players - Shaun Pearson, Christian Dibble, Akil Wright, Jake Lawlor, Luke Young, Jason Oswell and Mike Fondop - have deals that run beyond this summer, but Hughes will address the issue in due course.

“I don’t want to try and take momentum away from the players,” said Hughes.

“The lads who are going to be out of contract, I don’t want them to lose any focus and start thinking about that just yet.

“But, I am very mindful of the fact that there are going to be contracts to deal with at the end of the season and it will get addressed in the coming weeks.”

Hughes does not want players “worried” over whether they will be offered new deals and says a successful final two months of the campaign will go some way to ensuring people have a future at The Racecourse.

“The last thing I want is players being worried about their future,” said Hughes. “The difficult bit for me is that I don’t want them to take their eye off what they are trying to achieve here.

“The players’ futures and what we are trying to achieve here at the club will hopefully marry up and we can sort contracts out as and when, and we can keep the nucleus of the squad here for next season.

“The team are playing well, we have had a fantastic season and we are sitting healthily in the league.

“But that last thing I want to do now is start talking about players’ contracts and who is going to be here, and who is not going to be here, because the whole focus is on building momentum and trying to get out of this league.”

Wrexham are unbeaten in four games since Hughes was appointed manager earlier this month, taking 10 points from a possible 12.

A 93rd minute equaliser from Cole Stockton clinched a 1-1 draw at Gateshead on Saturday and although the winning run came to an end, Hughes was content with a point.

“As far as I am concerned it is about keeping the momentum,” said Hughes. “We are still unbeaten since I have come in. You are not going to win every game, even though I would like to, but it is about us keeping the momentum.

“We have got a big squad and we’ve got players coming back from injuries at a critical stage of the season which is only going to enhance us so it is going to be an exciting end.”

Hughes, who is Wrexham’s third manager of the season after Graham Barrow and Sam Ricketts, is pleased with the reaction of the players since he took charge.

“They have all been really good,” said Hughes. “On a day-to-day basis they are a joy to work with.

“I know myself, being an ex-player, that it is always difficult when there is a change of manager but so far, so good.”

Wrexham are back in action on Saturday against Chesterfield who have picked up since John Sheridan took over as manager last month.

“A new manager has gone in and steadied the ship a bit for them,” said Hughes.

“It is going to be a tough game, Sheridan is an experienced manager and they are going to be a strong team.”