GARETH Ainsworth has refused to be drawn on the future of his misfiring Wycombe Wanderers’ strikers.

The Chairboys boss has rotated his attacking options throughout the season but has failed to settle on a combination which can provide a regular supply of goals.

With a number of the Blues’ forwards out of contract in the summer, it remains to be seen if they will stay at Adams Park, and Ainsworth refused to offer any reassurances on whether their stays will be extended.

“Garry Thompson is under contract for next season [Paul] Hayes, Rowan Liburd and Max [Kretzschmar] all have their contracts up, so we will address that,” Ainsworth said.

“Their contracts will all be discussed over the next couple of weeks, but I keep that very private. You will be the first to know if we do sign these strikers or let them go.”

It would be harsh to suggest Wycombe’s profligacy in front of goal has been solely down to their strikers, but there has been a dearth in finishing quality at the point of their attack this season.

Just two goals from recognised forwards in Wanderers’ last 10 games has underlined a slump which led to the demise of their play-off hopes.

In fairness to Ainsworth he has attempted to remedy the issue on multiple occasions with his use of the loan market, but has had little reward from his new arrivals.

Paris Cowan-Hall looked the most likely of any of the loanees to spark a goalscoring upturn, and the Wycombe boss feels his season ending injury was a big blow for the club.

He said: “I think Paris was going to be the legs and the action up front and I think we won three of the four games he played in. I thought he would be the catalyst up front.

“We lost him [to injury], didn’t get any help from anyone and still had to pay for him. That is very harsh for a League Two club, but that is football.

“The gamble didn’t pay off and if Paris had stayed fit I firmly believe we would be higher up the table than we are now. Whether or not that would have been in the play-offs I don’t know.”

Ainsworth has previously stated he will look to bring in some fresh faces in the summer and much of his focus will surely centre on finding attacking reinforcements.

Budget constraints of course remain an issue at a club which always operates with one eye on their finances, and Ainsworth’s best route to transfer success may once again be in the loan market.

The scrapping of emergency loans means he will have to do his business swiftly and without the safety net of the short-term fixes which have bolstered his squad throughout this campaign.

It is an issue Ainsworth is aware of, and one he is confident the club will be able to work around as they pursue targets to bridge the slender gap to the upper echelons of the league.

“Next season I am sure there will be new faces to go with a couple of the old faces. It is a knife edge and it is not like we have finished 22nd or 21st in the league this year,” Ainsworth said.

“We just need a little tweaking and not a massive clear-out like we had three years ago. We are building something special here.

“The loan window rules are changing and it is going to be tough for clubs, but we can exploit [the loan market] as we have done before.”