Out of contract

By Pete Oliver

At 26 I am quite old to be out of contract for the first time so it's quite new to me and a different experience Brad Maylett

With hundreds of players released by their clubs every summer, the scramble to earn a new contract is becoming increasingly desperate.

More and more short-term deals in the lower divisions mean that ever-growing numbers of players find themselves looking for a new club at the end of each season.

For the first time, Brad Maylett finds himself in that boat after leaving Boston United.

Maylett told BBC Sport: "It's a major part of the game now, particularly at League Two level, with a lot of players dropping out.

"The way the game is going now it is getting more difficult and there are more players out of contract.

"At 26 I am quite old to be out of contract for the first time so it's quite new to me and a different experience.

"It is a bit daunting, but you have to have confidence in your own ability and have shown enough of what you can do in the past for managers to take a chance."

Maylett has been a professional for almost a decade after successfully coming through the youth-team ranks at Burnley.

The right-sided midfielder made more than 50 appearances for the Clarets but most were from the bench, and it took a move to Swansea in 2003 to get him more regular action.

Two years in Wales were followed by two more at Boston, taking Maylett's number of career appearances to close to 200.

He therefore has experience under his belt and is hoping he is not regarded as too old to be given a fresh start.

"You look at some experienced players who have been in the game a long time and have done a lot and they are looking for a club," Maylett added.

"They might have had a bit more of a salary and managers seem to be going for young talent that won't cost as much.

"But hopefully I have done enough in the past to get fixed up."

Chester City offered a likely destination when Maylett moved on loan to the Deva Stadium in March to help ease the wage-bill at financially stricken Boston.

I am as keen as when I got my first contract at Burnley. It's all I have ever wanted to do and I want to carry on Brad Maylett

Sadly for him, though, Boston took him back to York Street to bolster a drastically depleted squad and when Chester sacked Mark Wright at the end of the season another avenue was closed.

To make matters worse, Boston were relegated to the Conference - and subsequently demoted one further division because of unspecified breaches of regulations - to leave Maylett and many of his former team-mates seemingly well down the pecking order.

"If I'm being honest it doesn't really help your CV if you have been relegated," Maylett admitted.

"But if people look at it I think we deserved a pat on the back for going to the last game of the season.

"With the situation we were in, that club should have been relegated by Christmas. The way it was run, I have never known anything like it."

Boston could barely field a side by the end of the season and Maylett has not been paid for three months.

Players reaching the end of their contracts are usually paid an extra month up to the end of July if they do not get fixed up elsewhere but, despite the efforts of the PFA, that would appear a long shot for the ex-Boston boys.

"It would be a concern (financially) at the end of this month if I had nothing sorted," said Maylett, who at least has only himself to support.

"There were a lot of lads at Boston who had three or four kids and I felt really sorry for them," he added.

Maylett is now relying on his solid record in the game and the work of former Burnley team-mate Gordon Armstrong, who represents him, to prompt the phone to ring.

He has been offered the chance to go and play in Ireland but wants to find a fourth Football League club to sustain his career over here.

"Some players are still in the dark and have got nothing. At least I have an offer," he said.

"The main aim is to stay in the Football League as long as possible, although sometimes that's not in your hands.

"But managers have got their budgets now. A lot who were trying to sign players in January have been signing them from the end of May.

BRAD MAYLETT FACTS Born: Manchester Age: 26 Position: midfield Clubs: Burnley (98-03), Swansea (03-05), Boston (05-07), Chester (07) Games: 202 Goals: 12

"And I think there will be a lot of movement over the next two weeks.

"I just have to play it by ear and wait and hopefully it will be resolved in the next couple of weeks."

Maylett's enthusiasm and confidence remain undimmed and with no family ties, the Manchester-born player will go wherever it takes to stay in the game.

"I have boots and will travel," he said.

"I am as keen as when I got my first contract at Burnley. It's all I have ever wanted to do and I want to carry on."