Players need to play on and put themselves in the shop window, says Sunderland's Jim Rodwell

Hundreds of players will be out of contract in the summer, and new deals will be like 'gold dust'

Jim Rodwell says lower league players need to play out the remainder of the season to put themselves in the shop window, with clubs set to slash their squads next season and new contracts likely to be like 'gold dust'.

Sunderland chief executive Rodwell is one of those pushing for the League One completed to retain its sporting integrity, rather than cut short and settled based on points-per-game which is the preference of a number of other third-tier sides.

Rodwell believes players should also be in favour of playing on, with hundreds set to reach the end of their current deals at the end of June when, with football's finances heavily impacted by the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, competition for new contracts will be fierce.

In addition, proposals are being discussed for clubs in Leagues One and Two to introduce salary caps and reduce their squad sizes, which will only intensify the scramble for players to find new deals.

The best players will always be in demand, but aside from those in-demand talents there will be a lot of players trying to find employment and they may find their earning power reduced dramatically as a result.

"Our players that Phil [Parkinson, Sunderland manager] is in daily contact with, want to play," Rodwell told talkSPORT.

"They're professional footballers. They want to play football.

"I listened to [Sheffield United manager] Chris Wilder and he was right, the majority want to get back to playing football.

"I think there's an important point here that's slightly getting missed, specifically in League One and League Two.

"We've got hundreds of players [across the EFL] out of contract on June 30.

"Those players need to play the last eight, nine games to showcase their talent and try to earn contracts.

"The perceived wisdom is that clubs are going to operate next season on smaller squads and smaller budgets.

"These contracts are going to be like gold dust.

"These games are the opportunity for the players to showcase what they can do. "

Among the proposals under consideration by the EFL is one to cut squad sizes to just 20 senior players (those over the age of 21).

And there has been talk of a wage cap of £2.5m for League One clubs, although whether clubs would vote in favour of a fixed cap or would seek to make it relative to a club's income remains a point of debate.