FRANK Gray looks set to remain as Basingstoke Town manager beyond this season after being given the green light to start retaining players for the 2011/12 campaign.

Pacy wideman Nathan Smart became the first player to commit himself to the club for next season when he signed a contract at the weekend – and Gray is hoping that more players will follow suit in the near future.

“We are looking to make sure we retain a few players by putting them on contracts for next year before the end of the season,” he said. “I have been speaking with the chairman over the past month or so and we are hoping to secure the players who will form the basis of next season’s squad in the coming weeks.”

This is the first time in his three-year reign that Gray has moved to put players on new contracts before the end of the season. It is also a clear sign from chairman Rafi Razzak that the manager will be offered a new deal when his current contract expires in the summer.

Gray did not reveal who else he would be looking to re-sign, but Ross Adams, Matt Warner and David Pratt are likely to be three names high on the manager’s list.

Basingstoke face a run of four tough away games in the coming two weeks, beginning on Saturday, when they travel to high-flying Ebbsfleet United.

The Kent side are fourth in the Blue Square South table and have lost just one of their last six.

However, Town have been doing well away from home of late, going seven games without losing before last week’s defeat at Chelmsford – and Gray wants to recapture that form.

“We have got some tough away games coming up but we have done reasonably well away from home this season,” he said.

“We will need to play the way we can and not be intimidated. We will certainly not fear them and expect to get something out of the game.”

Gray’s run of bad luck with goalkeepers continued against Maidenhead on Monday, with debutant Chay Morris being ruled out for two or three weeks after suffering a cut to his inner ear. He was only playing because regular ’keeper Simon Locke was missing with a thumb problem, while Lee Allen faces a spell on the sidelines after hurting his shoulder while playing for Hartley Wintney.

However, Locke’s injury may not be as bad as first thought and he could start on Saturday, along with striker Greg Draper, who was not risked against Maidenhead due to a cut to the head. Matt Warner will be available despite a niggling knee injury, but Ross Adams is unlikely to recover from an ankle problem in time.

Two players who certainly will not feature are midfielder Tom Williamson and Steve Laidler, who flew out to Australia yesterday.

“They will be missed,” Gray said. “They are good professionals, who train well and are good assets. I hope that it goes well for them.”