Stanley manager Paul Cook is off on a scouting mission to Ireland at the weekend – and expects to know who is staying at the Crown Ground on his return.

Cook is returning to his old stomping ground in the Irish League as he hunts for players he believes can help the Reds finish higher than the 14th place they ended this season in.

But he returns on Monday expecting to have answers from Kevin McIntyre, Danny Coid, Sean Hessey, Charlie Barnett, Bryan Hughes and Will Hatfield, who have all been offered deals for the 2012/13 campaign.

Managing director Rob Heys – in his new role as he is now on the Reds’ board and so is no longer the chief executive – said: "We obviously want these players to stay or else we wouldn’t have offered them deals.

"But there is a deadline for them as Paul Cook and assistant Leam Richardson have made it clear they won’t hang around and wait for people to see if there is anything better out there.

"Paul said he wants players who want to play for Accrington Stanley and who believe the club can do well next season, so we all expect them to make up their minds soon otherwise the offers won’t be on the table."

Cook has said all along he believes there is untapped talent in the Irish League – where he managed Sligo for five years.

And, while most of the players will be under contract as the league has started, some have release clauses if an English club comes in for them.

"Paul has begun looking in earnest for his type of players," said Heys. "He is still learning about League Two but has spent four months as manager here now and knows what he wants.

"But, while he has his own targets and ambitions, we as a club won’t be putting pressure on him and we won’t set the manager any targets for next season.

"Our aim is to pay the wages on time every month and pay off any creditors and keep on top of all the finances after the problems of the last few years.

"We will have one of the smallest budgets in the league but Paul knows the score, he believes he can work with that and everyone’s pulling in the same direction."

Captain Luke Joyce, who is one of six signed up for next season, says he is excited about the challenge.

"After last year, reaching the play-offs and then losing John Coleman in January, it was always going to be a difficult year," he said.

"In light of this, I think we have done well to finish in mid-table but now Paul Cook wants to build a new squad.¿He wants to keep the core of the squad from this season but add some more quality, energy and desire.

"It is a new era for the club – and we want to have a really good go next season. It has taken time with the transition, getting used to new ideas and new ways of doing things, but we are making progress.

"We have shown in our last two homes games that we can compete with Shrewsbury and Crawley – both of who have got promoted – and now the job is to be more consistent and see where it takes us."

Striker Padraig Amond has returned to his parent club Pacos De Ferreira in Portugal still waiting to find out his future.

He has one year left on his contract there after a season on loan with the Reds but has made no secret of his desire to be back at the Crown Ground next season.

Amond picked up three awards at the presentation evening on Saturday. He was Accy Web Player of the Season alongside Kevin McIntyre. He also won Top Goalscorer with nine goals and Fan’s Player of the Season. Peter Murphy won Fans’ Young Player of the Season.

And Richardson said: "I think Podge has come on in leaps and bounds since he he came here. If he does come back next season, I wouldn’t bet against him getting 15 to 20 goals.

"He gets into great areas, he works tirelessly for the team and he just couldn’t get that 10th goal – it’s just not happened for him in the final few games of the season.

"It’s not just Podge but, as a team, we haven’t been taking our chances and, at this level if you don’t do that, you get punished.

"That’s something we have to work on for next season. Also goals for the opposition have been changing the way certain of our players think and that’s another area we will be working on in pre-season.

"Me and the gaffer haven’t finished even though the season has. We have agents on the phone all the time and we have a list of targets who we will be talking to and trying to tie down quickly.

"We will have a short break and then we will be working tirelessly to get the best squad we can together and our aim, as always, is to go first and foremost out to win the league.

"There is a lot of optimism around the ground and plenty to look forward to."