Sunderland boss Gus Poyet admits all player contract talks are being put on-hold.
Poyet understands that Sunderland must wait until the club's own fate is clearer before firm offers can be made.
"We [within the club] have started talking about it," he said. "I think in this situation, the players are clever enough to realise it's going to take time.
"We might not be able to do it earlier because at the end of the day, we don't know where we're going to be.
"I think for the players it's good as well. We can see how they do.
"Those who play week-in, week-out will have it easier than those who are not.
"But overall, yes we've got too many players who are out-of-contract and we've got to slowly start sorting it out."
