Wellington Phoenix captain Steven Taylor is urging club officials to work quickly over player contracts, to ensure they avoid a repeat of the mass exodus that engulfed them earlier this year.
Englishman Taylor is one of 12 players out of contract at the end of the season but said the club is yet to table a new deal, despite saying he would "love to" play out his days in Wellington.
The 33-year-old arrived in Wellington last year, and the experienced defender made an immediate impact, helping the Phoenix reach the A-League playoffs for the first time since 2014/15.
Taylor is one of only seven players from last year still at the club, and he's desperate to remain in the New Zealand capital, saying he'd rather get his future sorted as soon as possible.
"That's something I want to do so it's up to the club to offer a contract for me to stay here," Taylor said of his desire to stay in Wellington. "I'm enjoying my football, so we'll see where that gets us. I'm still waiting, so we'll see how it goes.
"Hopefully sooner rather than later, you want to be all tied up because last year a lot of the players were waiting until the playoffs and it was probably bad timing for us - people were unsure.
"I'm sure the club will come to an agreement soon. This place has been fantastic for me, coming in last year I've loved my football here, I'm enjoying myself here every day and working with the manager now, it's been good and hopefully I can stay here for many more years.
"I would love to [see out my career here] but that's up to the club."
Rival A-League clubs have been permitted to negotiate with off-contract players since December 1.
New Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay said the club has been working towards retraining a number of key players.
"The goal is to maintain 14-15 players for next season. Then you just add more quality to the team," he said.
"There's always going to be interest in players. We've created a team with young talented players so there's been plenty of emails coming into our club with interest in our players, which is a good thing."
After early struggles under Talay, the Phoenix now sit sixth on the A-League ladder, unbeaten in their last five matches.
The Phoenix will look to extend their unbeaten streak when they host the league-leading Sydney FC on Saturday.
