"We are not a soft touch and are not a lightweight side," said the former England centre-half to the Cambridge Evening News.

"The most pleasing thing is that we didn't have too many players booked for dissent, which are silly bookings. It's full credit to the players as I have asked them to do that, but it is up to the lads to use their heads in the heat of the moment."

Roy McFarland

Club secretary Steve Greenall was pleased to reveal the news this morning and told U's Net, "The board and supporters are united in their wish to get a period of stability at the club, and Roy's commitment in this respect goes a long way to ensuring that.

"The squad are obviously behind what he is trying to achieve, with many of them also contracted to the Millennium."

McFarland himself is obviously delighted to have extended the previous deal which was agreed earlier this year, and this afternoon he told Clubcall: "I'd agreed a deal with the board before, but they felt that the team was starting to take shape. We're now looking at a very, very young team, and in that sense the board feel the future looks a little bit rosy, and they were keen to give me a new deal."

He had to oversee the sales of players like Danny Granville, Micah Hyde and Jody Craddock soon after his arrival at the Abbey, but on a shoestring he has assembled a young side who showed very promising signs towards the end of last season and matched or beat the sides promoted to Division Two.

"It's been a transitional time and hard for myself and the players," McFarland added, "but now we've worked it out, brought in one or two new faces. They have settled in and the last three months of the season gave everyone a boost. We feel we will be involved in the top six or seven next season, and the experience of last season will make them stronger."

The full interview with Roy McFarland can be heard on the Clubcall Abbey Update line on 0891 555885.

There was further good news today in the form of a letter from the PFA to Roy McFarland. Cambridge United have won the PFA Bobby Moore Fair Play trophy as the team with the best disciplinary record in the four professional divisions. The club win a trophy and a cash award, which will be used within the Football in the Community programme.

PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor told McFarland, "Congratulations on your fine record of discipline, which is a tribute to you and your players." Mr Taylor will present the trophy at a game next season.

The 23-year-old played under Barry Fry during a loan spell at Birmingham City and spent part of last season on loan at Cardiff City.

Meanwhile Cambridge United are still awaiting a decision from 'Billy' Beall on the latest contract offered to him, although Leyton Orient manager Tommy Taylor confirmed last week that the 20-year-old has agreed a three year deal to join the O's.

Former United boss Tommy Taylor, who walked out on the U's in November 1996, told the CEN: "Billy has agreed a three-year deal with us, and will be an Orient player if the tribunal comes up with a sensible figure. We will agree to a conditional tribunal, which means we can pull out of the deal if we think the price set is too high. But I know Billy would be devastated if that happened. He is keen to join us."

Cambridge United secretary and financial controller Steve Greenall revealed this morning, "We have had an offer for 'Billy' Beall, £5,000 together with a future fee of £5,000 after the player has completed 25 appearances, plus a 10% sell-on."

'Billy' Beall

Unsurprisingly in view of this 'nominal' offer for a first team regular, he continued, "We are responding in the negative - as you will expect - and whilst at this stage we are formulating what we will be requiring, we are not showing our hand yet as Billy has not responded to our recent offer."

Under Football League rule 70(3) the player has until the 16th June to reply to United's offer.

When O's chairman Barry Hearn made contact with United last Tuesday he said he would try to agree terms with the 20-year-old before negotiating a transfer fee, so this latest development would seem to indicate that Beall has reached an agreement with Orient.

Roy McFarland has told the Cambridge Evening News that he has no regrets about not signing Sasa Ilic, the goalkeeper who joined Charlton and will play in Monday's play-off final against Sunderland for a place in the Premiership. The Yugoslavian had an unsuccessful trial with United last summer but has gone on to set a Charlton club record of nine consecutive clean sheets this season.

"Good luck to the lad, but I don't look on it as a mistake that we didn't try to keep him," McFarland said. "He didn't look anything out of the ordinary when he was with us. He also had a couple of sessions at Malcolm Webster's goalkeeper school, and Malcolm, who is recognised as one of the top coaches in the game, was of the same opinion.

"This sort of thing happens all the time in football. Players can fail to impress at one club and suddenly produce much better form at another. Ilic had trials at three other clubs before he came to us, and what people have to remember is that a club like ours can't really include two senior goalkeepers in the squad.

"To be taken on he had to convince us he was better than any keeper we had on the books, and at that stage Scott Barrett had a season behind him when I reckon he was probably the top keeper in the third division. Every club has 'one that got away' stories. But in this case I'm confident we took exactly the right decision at the time."

Notts County won the FA's Fair Play award for Division Three despite Cambridge United having the best disciplinary record in the country. The award takes goals scored into account and County's superior goal-scoring record took them ahead of the U's. Jody Craddock's Sunderland and Micah Hyde's Watford won the other divisional awards.

"It's not just that Leyton Orient want him," he said. "We want to keep him and there has been interest from other clubs including Barnet."

Beall's contract expires at the end of next month and although he is thought to favour a reunion with former mentor Tommy Taylor, it is surely a matter of where he believes his footballing ambitions will be best served. After United's promising final third of the season, and a playing style which attracted praise from the likes of Notts County boss Sam Allardyce, most U's fans are incredulous that the player would consider a move to another side in Division Three.

Ben Chenery marked the end of his first season with Cambridge United by today signing his new contract which will run to the end of the 1999/2000 season. The 21-year-old defender joined on a free transfer from Luton Town last summer.

The 'retained list' has been finalised and released, although due to the improved news input from the club there are no real surprises to regular readers of this page. The players who are contracted are: (under 24s) Ian Ashbee, Trevor Benjamin, Martin Butler, Ben Chenery, Andrew Duncan, Marc Joseph, Michael Kyd, Shaun Marshall, Tom Youngs. The 'over 24s' are Scott Barrett, Jamie Campbell, David Preece, Paul Wanless.

Five players are leaving on free transfers, namely Jamie Barnwell-Edinboro, Adie Hayes, Jed Sumner (goalkeeper), Colin Foster and Paul Wilson. The club agreed today to terminate midfielder Jason Rees' contract, making him a free agent. He joined on a free transfer last summer and had signed a two year deal.

Two players are currently due to be out of contract: 'Billy' Beall who we already know about and veteran striker John Taylor, who will sign a new contract to include coaching and scouting when his current deal expires next month. 'Shaggy' will manage the reserve team next season.

Of the non-contract players, Mark McCammon, Tommy Smith and Adam Wilde are retained, while Alex Finlayson, Mark Moore, Jamie Murphy and Michael Rodosthenous are not.

In fourteen incredible months since he left Cambridge United for Chelsea, Danny Granville has earned England Under-21 recognition, seen his new club win the FA Cup, and last night he lifted the European Cup Winners' Cup. Standing in for injured England international Graeme Le Saux in Stockholm, Danny had an outstandingly secure game and attracted several good comments in the media reports.

They join Andrew Duncan, Marc Joseph, Michael Kyd and David Preece, who are all contracted through to the year 2000.

Club secretary Steve Greenall adds that an exclusive interview with Trevor Benjamin can be heard on the Clubcall Abbey Update today and Ian Ashbee speaks later this week. The number to call is 0891 555885 (50p/min at all times).

You can see exclusive pictures of the new home shirt by clicking on the small image to the left. Grateful thanks to Graham Eales at Cambridge United for supplying them to U's Net!

At this stage it seems that Hearn is likely to be successful, as all the indications have been that Beall wants to join up with Tommy Taylor who coached him at youth level and brought him into United's first team. His contract is due to expire next month and he has already turned down two offers from United. This would leave the two clubs to wrangle over a transfer fee and, in view of Orient's previous paltry offers for United players, will probably lead to a transfer tribunal in the summer.

Taylor has confirmed his long-standing interest in Beall to the Cambridge Evening News, saying, "We want Billy in our team next season if the price is right. I brought him into the first team when I was at United and we've been keeping a close check on his progress. He's come on well this season and I'm sure he would add something to our side.

"We missed out on the play-offs this season mainly because of the administrative trouble, which cost us three points, but we can get there next time."

The CEN claim that Roy McFarland is hoping the player will change his mind if higher division clubs do not come in. They also speculate that the clubs are unsurprisingly some way apart in their valuation of the player, with United thought likely to ask for between £80,000 and £100,000, and Orient likely to offer around £20,000 - frankly an insulting figure.

Club secretary Steve Greenall has passed on news about ex-United midfielder David Williamson, who was in touch with him today. Williamson was released by United in March and joined non-league Kingstonian until the end of the season, but he now has an offer to play in Hong Kong. Premier League side Yee Hope have offered him a two year contract which would give him the chance to play against sides like Happy Valley, the club Colin Foster nearly joined last summer.

'Billy' Beall

Club secretary Steve Greenall told U's Net, "I took a call this morning from Barry Hearn indicating an interest in signing 'Billy' Beall and asking how much we want for him."

Beall's contract is due to expire next month after the 20-year-old turned down new deals in December and again last month. However, he will not be eligible for a free transfer despite the new Bosman ruling as only players over 24 can move for nothing under freedom of contract.

Greenall added, "Our response will be to ask them to make us an offer."

Crewe Alexandra assistant manager Neil Baker has been strongly linked with the post since Sorensen's surprise departure and player-coach Derek Mountfield is also thought to be in the running for the job. David Preece (right) spent the first five years of his career at Walsall, before moving on to Luton and then Derby before joining United the season before last. Today he played down the speculation.

"I suppose it's a natural connection for people to make," he told the Cambridge Evening News. "I've had people on the phone from up there, saying my name has been mentioned. I was surprised they got rid of Jan Sorensen, because Walsall had that very good FA Cup run."

The former England 'B' midfielder stayed with United eighteen months ago despite an offer to follow former U's manager Tommy Taylor to Leyton Orient, preferring the player/coach position on offer at the Abbey Stadium.

"As far as I'm concerned, I'm looking forward to next season and getting Cambridge up to the second division," added Preece. "If we can get that 20-goals-a-season scorer, and the kids make enough progress, I reckon we have a chance."

Former United youth team defender Shaun Howes, a player who did follow Taylor to Orient, has been released by the Londoners. Orient are thought to be keen on signing Leon Gutzmore from Billericay Town, another former U who was released by Taylor at the end of his YTS at the Abbey.

"I haven't gone to the directors and said I want a certain amount of money, but we have discussed it and I have some leeway," he revealed. "They have said they will consider any move I want to make for a player on its merits, and that's all you can ask from a club with limited resources. But I don't think it will be a case of paying out fees for all the players we want, with the Bosman ruling freeing all players of 24 and over."

Like last summer, any new arrivals are unlikely to arrive until July as player contracts do not expire until the end of June. Last year Ben Chenery signed for United at the beginning of July while others like Paul Wilson, Jason Rees and Martin Butler did not complete their moves until early August. This season there is the additional fact that all players over the age of 24 who are out of contract can change clubs with no fee involved.

The manager explained, "We are making contact now with clubs and agents, but with contracts running until the end of June things don't usually get moving until well into July. What we will be doing throughout the closed season though is bringing our younger players in now and again for fitness training."

'Billy' Beall

He confirmed that of the squad who played so well in the final third of the season, only midfielder Billy Beall is not currently committed to the club for next season. The 20-year-old has rejected two contract offers from United and has been linked with former manager Tommy Taylor at Leyton Orient.

"Billy wants to see if there are any offers for him," McFarland added. "We want him to stay with us and we'll be talking about contracts again later in the summer."

In response to fans' questions, Club secretary Steve Greenall reports that the FA, PFA and Football League seem unaware if there is a 'fair play' award to recognise Cambridge United's excellent disciplinary record this season. The club received fewer bookings than any other club in the country but the fact seems set to go unrecognised - odd when one considers that the clubs at the other end of the table can be called before the FA and fined for their bad record!

United's reserve team complete their Capital League season this evening when they entertain Gillingham reserves at the Simoco ground. The 5.30pm kick-off has been put back to 6pm. Due to most of the senior pro's being on holiday the reserve team has a very young look to it and comprises mainly trainees and schoolboys.

Reserve team: James Mercer, Franco Nacca, Martin McNeil, Matthew Haniver, Adam Tann, Michael Barrows, Michael Steward, Jonathan Mills, Daniel Chillingworth, Keith Newby, Mark Gibson. Subs: Karl Fox, Alym Kamara, Darren Cox.

There was a youth team "Player of the Year" event in the Harris Suite at which Michael Barrows (pictured left) was voted the "Players' Player of the Year" by his fellow young players. Top scorer Darren Cockrill (right) won the Norwich and Peterborough Player of the Year, which was based upon man of the match awards. The young striker recently completed his YTS and has signed a two year professional contract with United.

Jamie Barnwell-Edinboro, who joined Brighton on trial last week after being handed a free transfer by Cambridge United, is reported by Brighton newspaper The Argus to be investigating the possibilities of playing in Scandanavia.

Club secretary Steve Greenall reports that the re-launch of the "Abbey Update" in conjunction with ClubCall has seen a dramatic increase in both the number of calls and the durations. The number to call for "news, views and interviews" direct from the club is still 0891 555885.

"If players think they can turn up and play when they feel like it, they are badly mistaken," he told the Cambridge Evening News. "We've had a very good run lately, but the season isn't over until after the final whistle. Our supporters went to the time, trouble and expense of making the long trip to Hull and most of our players let them down.

"Goalkeeper Scott Barrett was excellent, Martin Butler was a one man attack, but most of the rest weren't at the races. If there is a consolation it's that we'll go away for the summer break now, knowing we still have a lot of work to do if we want to be promotion contenders next season. I want this game to stick in the players' minds. It was an unacceptable performance."

Player-coach David Preece agreed with the manager's assessment, adding, "It's a sour end to the season. We have a lot of young players and they have to learn there is no such thing as a friendly when you are a professional. I wasn't happy with the attitude of some of them at Ingoldisthorpe the other day, even though we beat the village team 9-0, and this confirmed my suspicions.

"Scott Barrett saved us. We rarely got into the game. And the chances Martin Butler had in the second half he made for himself, until Mark McCammon went on as sub and showed up a few of the others."

Martin Butler

Striker Martin Butler, singled out for praise by McFarland, was sent clear by substitute McCammon three times after the young striker came on, but each time Hull goalkeeper Wilson dived at his feet to deny him. At the final whistle Butler made a point of walking straight to Wilson to shake his hand. "I thought I was in there a few times," Butler told the CEN. "He just stopped everything. It was one of those days."

Hull player-manager Mark Hateley has warned City supporters not to get carried away despite their late run which saw them take ten points from their last five games. The former Rangers and AC Milan star told the Hull Daily Mail, "It's for others to say exactly how well we're playing at the moment but I'm pleased with the effort and better consistency. I think most people who've seen us play the last seven or eight games, apart from Doncaster, will say we've played well. But let's not go overboard. There's still a million miles to go and we must be realistic."

Although many of the first team squad have departed on a short holiday, they will be back for the Supporters' Club 'Player of the Year' dance at the Abbey Stadium on Friday night.

Cambridge United: (4-3-3) Barrett, Chenery, Ashbee (Youngs 84'), Duncan, Joseph, Campbell, Wanless, Beall (Smith 68'), Butler, Kyd (McCammon 68'), Benjamin.
Booked: Campbell (foul 63').

Hull City: Wilson, Lowthorpe (Wright 88'), Rioch, Edwards, Doncel, Joyce, Peacock (Mann 69'), McGinty, Brown (Hateley 86'), Darby, Boyack.

Ref: G Singh (Wolverhampton)

Shots On Target: Cambridge 7, Hull City 6
Corners: Cambridge 3, Hull City 2

The first half was fairly even although United probably had more of the ball, but in a rare attacking foray the Tigers went ahead after 32 minutes through Duane Darby. The striker pounced after a free kick when Boyack's shot was blocked by Scott Barrett, reacting quickly to fire home from ten yards.

United turned up the heat after the break and Butler in particular was repeatedly frustrated by Wilson who proved unbeatable, even in one-on-one situations. Trevor Benjamin terrified Wilson and his defence with his pace and strength but Hull worked hard to deny the U's time and space on the ball, and Darby almost added a second in the dying moments. The unsettled striker met Mark Hateley's cross only to head against the bar.

McFarland sent Tommy Smith on for his debut in the 68th minute, the former Manchester United midfielder replacing 'Billy' Beall. Michael Kyd was replaced at the same time by lanky youngster Mark McCammon and the non-contract striker caught the eye with his effort and linking with Butler. Teenager Tom Youngs came on for Ian Ashbee with four minutes left.

So United's rollercoaster season has finished with as much promise as it started, and but for the long winter run without a win we could have been looking forward to the play-offs at the very least. Roy McFarland has reshaped his side and the young outfit give cause for a lot of optimism as we look forward to next season, especially if the manager is successful in attracting the two or three experienced heads he says he is seeking.

New opponents next season will be Brentford, Plymouth, Carlisle and Southend who are relegated from Division Two, whilst Halifax are promoted from the Vauxhall Conference. Lincoln City snatched the last automatic promotion slot and move up to Division Two with Notts County and Macclesfield.

Marc Joseph

"Marc has had stomach trouble, but he's been able to do some training," the manager told the Cambridge Evening News. "It depends how much the illness has weakened him. If he doesn't make it I may bring in Tommy Smith to play as left-sided centre-back, rather than shuffling the team by pulling Ian Ashbee out of midfield."

Even if Joseph passes the fitness test, former Manchester United player Smith is expected to be on the substitutes' bench, probably with the versatile Mark Moore who can play in midfield or defence, and young striker Mark McCammon.

United travel to Hull tomorrow in search of revenge after allowing City their only away win of the season. A goal two minutes from time secured the points for Hull at the Abbey in October and McFarland assured the CEN that his staff and players were aware of the sorry statistic. "We battered them in the first half, but they pinched it in the second," he said. "We're on a good run and it would be nice to finish off the season by putting things straight at their place."

Paul Wanless, who was this week confirmed as the new club captain for next season, has hopefully put an end to the stories linking him with Leyton Orient. Last week at the Fans' Forum he spoke of how he has settled down with his wife and two children near St Neots, and in today's Cambridge Evening News he confirmed that he feels he belongs in the area and the Abbey Stadium.

Paul Wanless

The 24-year-old midfielder - frequently the oldest outfield player in recent games - commented, "I'm already looking forward to next season. We are finishing this one so well we should have a very good chance of carrying on and being in contention for promotion.

"I'm proud to be given the captaincy, It's an honour and I'll do my best to live up to it. We've had a few good results lately and I might have won the lads over. I think we went about three games without a win when I first took over as skipper, and they started calling me 'winless Wanless'.

"If we can start next season where we leave off, though, we'll win more than we'll lose. If we hadn't had that slump before Christmas we'd be going for automatic promotion now. And even in that run nobody gave us a real beating."

Meanwhile Roy McFarland has likened Wanless to his friend and mentor at Derby County, the great Dave MacKay: "Paul leads by example like Dave did. He'll go in anywhere and give everything for the team," he told the Cambridge Evening News. "He's had a few games as skipper when John Taylor wasn't in the side, and with John joining the coaching staff he was the obvious choice to take over as club captain.

"As well as inspiring other players by his attitude and approach, he's in that midfield role, which means he's in close touch with every department of the team during a game. He's also keen to take on the job, which is vital. There have been inquiries about him from Leyton Orient and I've kept him in touch with that. But he's Cambridge United through and through. He reckons we have something good going here and he wants to be part of it."

John Taylor, United's sole remaining playing link with the glory days of the early nineties, promises that his recent appointment as reserve team manager does not mean that he has given up on two playing ambitions.

The 33-year-old striker knows that two more goals would make him the highest scorer in United's League history while another four would take his career tally to 150. "I accept that time is catching up with me," he said. "But I think I've showed this season, with 10 goals in 20 starts, I can still come in and contribute.

John Taylor

"I'm looking forward to getting involved in the coaching as much as anything else in my career, but I'll still be ready to play in the first team when called on. It would be nice to get those landmarks. I've scored 60 League goals for United, and two more would take me past Tom Finney's total, although 14 to catch Alan Biley may be a bit unlikely. Four to make the 150 looks possible though, unless the lads play so well I don't get a look-in.

"They've been doing well enough to keep me out lately. Martin Butler could be that 20 to 25 goals player we need next season if he stays free of injury. And Trevor Benjamin has made a lot of progress over the last six weeks. Michael Kyd has been a bit patchy since he came back from his injury, but with a good pre-season he can be a key player again.

"I'm down the pecking order now, but the old man has kept on getting in the side this season and I won't be giving up yet."

But despite those ambitions, fans' favourite Taylor reveals that his priority is to grasp his first managerial challenge with next season's reserve team: "Looking after the reserves should be a good grounding, but as well as carrying on my career in the game I want to be able to give something back to United by helping to bring on the young players.

"The reserve team is mainly youngsters and the step from youth football can be a tough one. I'll probably play in most reserve games, but at centre-half, where you get a good look at the way the side is shaping. I'm also hoping to be able to take some of the pressure off the gaffer and David Preece. They hardly get a chance of a day off. The job is pretty constant. But now we can always have at least two of the coaching staff in, and they'll be able to get a break now and again."

Club secretary Steve Greenall revealed this week that United have been accepted into the Avon Insurance Football Combination for next season, and Taylor is looking forward to the increased competition that will offer. The U's second string should be facing the reserves of higher Division clubs, depending on how the Combination is reorganised, and Taylor said, "I think it'll be a boost for us."