TODAY is expected to be D-Day for the Newport County AFC players waiting to hear whether they will be offered a new contract or told to find a new club.

Manager Warren Feeney says he made up his mind on most players weeks ago and has talked about a desire to keep the core of the current squad while also bringing in his own players.

So, before he reveals all, it’s time to take a look at what he’s likely to have decided.

Goalkeeper Joe Day and strikers Lenell John-Lewis and Tom Meechan are all believed to be contracted for next season.

Teenage defender Liam Angel is also signed up, along with fellow youngsters Lewis Bamford, Dafydd Jones and Ben Jones, the younger brother of first team defender Darren Jones.

And loan players Ben Davies, Janoi Donacien, Tommy O’Sullivan and Souleymane Coulibaly will return to their parent clubs – respectively Preston North End, Aston Villa, Cardiff City and Peterborough United.

But the other 18 members of the first team squad are all unsure of where they will be when pre-season training begins next month.

So what is likely to be decided? Here are my predictions.

Goalkeepers Rhys Taylor and Joe Green are both likely to move on.

Taylor showed on Saturday that he has the talent to succeed at this level but there simply isn’t room in the budget for two top goalkeepers.

And, having excelled at Wrexham in the Conference, he’s likely to have several other options and won’t want to play second fiddle to Day.

Green’s first team County career to date consists of 60 seconds on the pitch after Day was sent off late in the FA Cup third round clash with Blackburn Rovers in January.

Feeney may be tempted to keep the youngster as an inexpensive back-up but he will surely feel he can find a better alternative elsewhere.

Right-back Danny Holmes told the Argus last week that he was confident of being offered a new deal and he has been a solid presence for most of the season.

But this is likely to be a tight call for Feeney and he may decide to look at other options.

Left-back Scott Barrow has done enough to earn a new contract in my eyes, particularly by showing another string to his bow with some all-action displays as a wide midfielder.

In central defence I’d expect Feeney to aim to keep hold of Kieran Parselle, Andrew Hughes and Matt Partridge, though he may have concerns over the latter’s fitness record.

I would also like to see experienced head Darren Jones given another year given his steadying influence on the back four following his arrival in January but Feeney may choose to look for younger alternatives.

Midfield duo Seth Nana Twumasi and Nathan Ralph, who arrived together from Yeovil Town last summer, will leave together having disappeared from view since the Terry Butcher era.

It also looks like the end of the road for Yan Klukowski who, despite some eye-catching performances last season, has failed to make the impact he would have wanted in the last nine months.

Tom Owen-Evans will almost certainly be given another year to continue his progression and Feeney will probably opt to retain the talented but inconsistent Medy Elito.

Hopefully he’ll also do his best to keep hold of Alex Rodman who has been County’s best source of goals from midfield.

Feeney would obviously love to tie down captain Mark Byrne to a new contract but the player of the year will take his time to consider his options.

Gillingham boss Justin Edinburgh, the man who brought him to Rodney Parade two years ago, is a big admirer and could tempt Byrne away to League One.

But he has said that he is happy in Newport and that he would stay if the deal was right so Feeney has to do everything he can to keep his skipper.

In attack top scorer Scott Boden is another one who is likely to be offered the chance to stay but with 15 goals to his name he will have caught the eye of rival clubs and I sense he may choose to move on.

That just leaves January signings Dean Morgan and John-Christophe Ayina and, though Ayina has had his moments, I don’t believe either have done enough to warrant contracts for next season.

So my prediction for the retained and released list looks like this…

Retained: Barrow, Hughes, Parselle, Owen-Evans, Rodman, Elito

Borderline: Darren Jones, Partridge, Holmes, Ayina

Released: Taylor, Green, Klukowski, Twumasi, Ralph, Morgan

Offered contracts: Byrne, Boden

Already on contract: Day, Angel, Ben Jones, Dafydd Jones, Bamford, Meechan, John-Lewis