Watford have opened contract negotiations with four first-team squad members but Malky Mackay has stressed that those yet to be offered deals will not necessarily be leaving the club.

Richard Lee, Dale Bennett and Liam Henderson are all in the process of sorting our new contracts as their current deals expire in the summer and Adrian Mariappa, who has one year left, is also in discussions with the club.

Malky Mackay this week confirmed: “We are starting to talk to Aidy, Richard Lee is another one we are just starting to talk to as well.

“We have started talking to Liam Henderson and there will be a couple of others as well. There is also Dale Bennett. They are the ones we are in discussions with at the moment.”

The instrumental John Eustace, captain Jay DeMerit, Will Hoskins and Jon Harley are also out of contract in the summer, as are youngsters Jonathan North, Lewis Young and Billy Gibson.

DeMerit has publicly stated he will not open contract negotiations until after this summer’s World Cup, but when asked whether the fact the others are yet to be offered new deals meant they were leaving, Mackay replied: “Not at all. It is just this is the time when it is all starting.”

The Watford boss continued: “The way this season has gone, the stability of the club didn’t quite happen until after Christmas in terms of the threat of administration and then there has been a period where the rights issue has been at the forefront of a lot of the dealings going on.

“Then on the football side, we have been trying to stay in the division and that has been the main focus.

“We have got to talk to players and do the best for them and the club and this is now the time when negotiations have started.”

Watford have been trying desperately to reduce their wage bill over the last year, with high earners Nathan Ellington and Mat Sadler loaned out to other clubs this season.

The Hornets also cashed in on the likes of Tommy Smith, Tamas Priskin, Mike Williamson and Jobi McAnuff last summer as the club’s Premier League parachute payments came to an end.

Hoskins, Eustace and Harley all agreed contracts when Watford’s financial position was much better.

When asked whether some players would have to take pay cuts if they were to agree new deals, Mackay replied: “I think you look at the whole of football and right now, I think the amount of people who will be coming out of contracts in the summer and the way clubs are and the way football is at the moment, there is certainly going to be a lot of adjusting going on and not just at our club but a lot of clubs. We won’t be any different.”

The Hornets’ recent injuries and suspensions have highlighted how small their squad is but, at present, Mackay is not expecting a high number of arrivals in the summer He said: “Budget constraints are going to play a big part in what happens this summer but we are certainly going to have to wheel and deal.

“The financial constraints within the club are well documented and I have explained before that Championship players cost a certain amount of money and there are a limited amount of them and various clubs will be battling for their services.

“We have got to try and do what we can basically; try and get the best deals we can with the constraints that are on the club,” Mackay added.