Pignata has revealed to au.fourfourtwo.com that the club is currently in negotiations with at least eight members of the current squad over contracts for next season.

No-one has yet put pen to paper but Pignata is hopeful it won't be too long before several deals can be tied up.

Speaking to au.fourfourtwo.com today, Pignata, without divulging names, said: "We're pretty close with quite a few of them.

"The discussions have been pretty positive and I think players can see this a well run club, it's a great city and they can see the potential."

Perth Glory coach Dave Mitchell has stated that his club's geographical location has not helped with recruitment but Pignata doesn't feel Phoenix are suffering as a result of their place on the world map.

He said: "We've managed to attract quality players such as Andrew Durante, Adam Kwasnik and Jon McKain so I don't think it's an issue."

While efforts are ongoing to tie down the likes of established stars such as Shane Smeltz, Pignata said the club was also tackling the issue of its youth league side - or lack of one.

The Wellington CEO said: "We can see the value of having a youth side and not having one could impact us severely.

"You need a platform to bring young players through and how can senior players prove to Ricki that they should be in his team if they don't get the chance ti impress him on the park?

"We're looking into fielding a side in the New Zealand Football Championship next season."

Discussions have been held with both the FFA and New Zealand and while nothing is certain at this stage Pignata says the initial response has been quite supportive.

Pignata said: "We haven't gone through the dyamics of the thing yet though and there are registration issues and the like."

Meanwhile, Pignata is urging the Wellington public to get behind the team on Sunday as Phoenix look to make it four games without defeat.

He said: "There's no question the noise at our home games is phenomenal and hopefully they (the fans) can be our 12th man again and cheer us to a win against the Queensland Roar."