While other clubs up and down the leagues have been announcing their retained list for next season, there has been a bit of a delay in doing so at Chester FC .

And it is understandable given the club’s search to appoint a new man at the helm only ended less than a fortnight ago when it was confirmed the Blues had installed former Salford City bosses Bernard Morley and Anthony Johnson as the club’s new joint managers .

There is a deadline of June 1 for clubs to announce their retained lists by , and Morley and Johnson have decisions to make about who they offer deals to from the current squad that are out of contract as they look likely to implement a part-time playing model at the club .

While it is inevitable players will leave the Swansway Chester Stadium, supporters may have different views of who they would like to see wearing the blue and white next season in the National League North.

So we put that very question to our fans jury this week to get their views on what they want the squad to look like heading into the club’s first foray in English football’s sixth tier after five seasons in the National League.

We asked them:

“Which players from last season’s Chester FC squad would you retain and why?”

Here’s what they had to say...

Kieron Shiel “The sooner we offload Kingsley James and Ross Hannah the better, this would then leave space and money for the managers to stamp their name and authority on the team from the off.”

“So the first person on my retain list would be Gary Roberts, a must for us, fits the bill, has class, grit and determination, local boy and could be the perfect interface between team and managers, captain for me let alone retained.

“Obviously Tom Crawford, James Jones, Matty Waters, definitely Cain Noble and the other young guns would also be on there too, but that's surely a given.

Teenage trio (L-R) Tom Crawford, James Jones and Nathan Brown signed their first professional deals at Chester FC ahead of the 2017-18 season.

“The only other I’d consider is James Akintunde, I’m not sure he fits the style of the managers or whether he can return enough goals, but for me he has had good spells and showed effort during this tough season so in a winning team he may come into his own, but I’ll happily trust and back the managers whatever their decision with him.

“We already have Jordan Archer and even if we didn’t I think that would be an obvious selection to retain.

“Craig Mahon however is an interesting one, he simply hasn’t performed and has been injury prone. If he didn’t have a contract I’d look to retain on very different pay as you play terms, but as he does have a contract I’d be looking to move on. Feels like we will be stuck though so hopefully the move to part-time will help.

“The sooner we offload Kingsley James and Ross Hannah the better, this would then leave space and money for the managers to stamp their name and authority on the team from the off.

“The rest can go for me.

“Having watched Class of 92 series yet again recently they certainly won’t be backwards in coming forwards on that front!”

Matthew Nickson “I believe we need to start and look for fresh playing squad. We kind of have to really with Bern/Johnno suggesting that we will be moving to the part-time model initially.”

“For me the retained list needs to focus around the academy graduates that were promoted and successful within the first team last season and the contracted players, apart from the big earners Hannah and James.

“Ideally I would like to see if it was possible to get Andy Firth on loan from Liverpool for another season as he has signed a contract but I think his first team opportunities may be limited at this time – this provides us with an excellent young keeper at limited cost.

“Then we would have Jones in at CB, Crawford in CM and Jordan Archer upfront. That for me creates a spine for the team of very capable young hungry players and we then fill in the gaps around them with a mix of further young players and sign 3-5 experienced heads to bring the squad together.

“Craig Mahon is still contracted for another season and although disappointing last season – mainly down to injuries and not getting a run of games – he has ability and is an exciting player on his day. He has also experienced a lot wearing a Chester FC shirt so he can really be classed as a more senior player now.

Chester FC winger Craig Mahon in action against Port Vale.

“Other than that I believe we need to start and look for fresh playing squad. We kind of have to really with Bern/Jonno suggesting that we will be moving to the part-time model initially.

“The only other player I would look to keep would be Gary Roberts. He showed what he is capable of and I believe getting his deal across the line could be the best signing in the National League North.

“I was disappointed Ryan Astles signed for Southport as feel it is a sideways move really. I felt he was good enough to get another National League contract and if he wasn’t staying in that league I would have expected him to stay.

“Unfortunately for him I think the announcement of the investment and the appointment of the two managers came a couple of weeks late.”

Rio Doherty “Out of the squad that finished the season with us, I would keep Gary Roberts, Andy Halls, Myles Anderson, James Jones, Tom Crawford and Jordan Gough.”

“With the deadline looming it’s about time we released our retained list. Obviously last season was terrible for us, although the squad that ended the season performed much better than the squad at the start did.

“However, we need to start a fresh era now with the appointments of two really good managers. There are still some players though who I wouldn’t mind keeping personally.

“Obviously Jordan Archer and Craig Mahon have contracts until the end of next season as well as Matty Waters. To be honest I think Matty should be getting more game time elsewhere as he struggled to break through last season.

“There is no doubt he has potential, but it would be more ideal for him to play regularly at another club to develop his career. Personally I wouldn’t mind Mahon and Archer remaining.

“The other two players who are on two-year deals are of course Ross Hannah and Kingsley James. Sadly they both didn’t perform as well as we expected last year which resulted in them going out on loan to Southport and Barrow respectively.

“Also, they are our two highest earners so we need to be sorting out the best deal financially. I still think that Hannah could do a job for us, but it would be best for both parties to sort out a different deal.

“Out of the squad that finished the season with us, I would keep Gary Roberts, Andy Halls, Myles Anderson, James Jones, Tom Crawford and Jordan Gough.

“I would also sign on a few youth players - Cain Noble, Iwan Murray and Rhain Hellawell - as they coped really well in the remaining games of the season given the circumstances. Obviously our academy had a remarkable campaign of success and I think that they will go on to do really well in the professional game.

“Obviously Berno and Jonno will bring in their own players who they think can do well for us, but if we can offer contracts to the above then I will be pleased.

“I expect the retained list to be published in a few days, but regardless who stays or not, I would like to thank the squad that ended the season with us for how well they coped in a tough environment and the effort they put in, despite relegation already confirmed. Now though, I’m looking forward to a fresh era.”