Half of the players likely to feature in the matchday squad for Saturday's visit of Ipswich are not contracted to Albion next season.

In the vast majority of cases this is not a concern.

The club's policy of not negotiating with senior players until the end of the campaign is understandable.

It is difficult to make decisions when you are unsure whether you will be playing in the Championship or the Premier League.

The thought of fighting for a new deal also ensures they maintain their hunger.

I would make an exception though with Tomasz Kuszczak.

Albion's No. 1 has given no indication publicly that he is hammering on the club's door demanding a new contract. He seems quite relaxed about the situation.

My concern would be Kuszczak attracting interest from elsewhere if Albion do not go up.

He has been one of the best goalkeepers in the Championship this season and could well be on the radar of clubs in the division with more spending power.

It is also not difficult to envisage, with all his Manchester United experience, one of the Premier League newcomers showing an interest if Albion are not promoted.

The only question mark against Kuszczak is not so much what he does with his hands and with his feet. Albion, because of the way they like to play out from the back, encourage their goalkeepers to be versatile distributors.

Kuszczak has not always looked at ease in this respect, although judging by the way he accurately passed to Gordon Greer on one flank at Bolton last Saturday and then sprayed the ball out to Stephen Ward on the other, hard work on the training ground is helping him become more sure-footed.

Others may ask what about me? Matt Upson is the only other senior pro out of contract in the summer who has performed as regularly and consistently as Kuszczak.

The centre-half is at a more advanced stage in his career and quite content that he will play the rest of it out year-on-year.

Some players are simply more valuable to the cause than others. Few are more valuable to Albion than the Pole in their goal.