But he admitted on Thursday the club is now four to six weeks behind the rest of the Conference clubs and that he has little chance of getting a squad assembled for the start of pre-season training on 3rd July.

He also confirmed former Field Mill favourite Kevin Gray is among the players he has spoken to already.

Rumours persisted on Thursday that a takeover of Mansfield Town FC could be announced within 24 hours.

It is understood that would-be owner Colin Hancock and a separate local group of businessmen still hope to persuade owner Keith Haslam to sell quickly.

The Stags, despite comments from chief executive Stephen Booth and chairman Tony Egginton 10 days earlier, have still to announce season ticket details for next season.

The delay in an announcement, first promised for last midweek and then again for this week, has fuelled speculation that new owners could be installed very soon - and would want to announce their own price structure.

It has also been suggested that both Booth and Egginton may remain at Field Mill in their current roles if one of the takeover parties is successful.

Meanwhile, Holland has kept himself busy, even though he has no guarantee he will start the season as manager, and said: "I went down to the Conference awards night last weekend to acquaint myself with the managers at that level and had an enjoyable night.

"I have also spoken to Mickey Boulding on the phone and am meeting up with him in a couple of days.

"But it will be up to the people above me at the club to offer him a contract that will entice him to stay.

"I have had a good chat with him and told him I would love him to stay. He has told me there is interest in him elsewhere but he still wants to listen what Mansfield Town have to say to him.

"I am still speaking to a number of players. I have met up with two this week that I have spoken to before just to reassure them I am still interested. But is very, very difficult when you can't offer them anything concrete.

"I have spoken to other players like Stephen Dawson and Gareth Jelleyman and, without wanting to blow my own trumpet, players are wanting to know if I will be the manager here next season before they commit their futures.

"Lads have bills and mortgages to pay and they only stay loyal for so long. All I can do is get on with it. Moaning won't help.

"I will be back in at the club full time next week. But it is very difficult. It has been a baptism of fire since day one and if I can get through this and come out the other side I think I can work at any football club.

"I can understand why certain decisions can't be made until a decision on the takeover is made.

"I have done my job to the best of my ability in the meantime. Everyone now knows my position here. It is not me not signing players.

"The longer this goes on the more difficult it will make next season. You want to be as positive as you can ,but it is hard when you don't get the say-so to do what wants to be done."

He added: "We are now four to six weeks behind every club in the Conference. The players, or should that be player at the moment, are due back in for pre-season training on 2nd July.

"At the moment we'll be lucky to field a five-a-side team, let alone 11!

"If I was a player I would want to be there for the first day of pre-season training at my club. And, as a manager, you would want to have your full squad together for pre-season training and that clearly is not going to happen now.

"If we did sign someone we don't have a secretary to sort it out at the moment so I would have to do the paperwork myself or Stephen Booth.

"Agents have been phoning me and asking what positions I need to fill and I have just asked them what they've got! I have a folder with probably 60 or 70 names which you whittle down to 20-25 possible targets, knowing some won't want to come here.

"The better ones will have other clubs interested or will already be taken up.

"You really don't want to be left in the position of just taking players in to make up numbers to start the season."

Holland said he not spoken to Peterborough United pair striker Danny Crow and goalkeeper Shwan Jalal, two names linked with the Stags in the Peterborough press.

But he confirmed he had spoken to former Stags skipper Kevin Gray about a return.

"I have always kept in touch with Kevin and he has shown an interest in coming here," he said.

"I have looked at four or five centre halves as we could end up losing John Mullins, Jake Buxton and Alex John-Baptiste.

John-Baptiste is still under contract and, although he has made a transfer request, Holland said no one as yet had come in for him.