PHIL Parkinson refuses to be alarmed by the "awkward" hold-up in contract decisions while the City takeover talks go on.

The Bantams boss expects to secure Jon Stead for next season but other calls will have to wait until he knows where he stands with the club's ownership.

Parkinson is currently in limbo regarding his potential summer budget until the negotiations with Gianni Paladini are resolved.

But he believes City will start from a strong position because the bulk of the current side are already pinned down. Eight of the line-up that began Tuesday's draw at Scunthorpe are still in contract, with a couple dependent on the club taking up an option, plus fellow regulars Rory McArdle and Filipe Morais.

"I feel we have probably got as good a base going into the summer since I was here, certainly in terms of quality," said Parkinson.

"I do honestly feel that. We have some good players signed up and we are ready to discuss the rest in two games' time.

"Last year, we left all the contracts to the summer and there are only two games of the season left to go."

Parkinson is confident of keeping Stead, who has scored ten goals on loan, once his present contract at Huddersfield runs out.

The striker has been sounded out and has indicated he would be happy with a permanent move but the final details cannot be ironed out.

Parkinson said: "Nothing will be done until the takeover situation is resolved. Everything has to be on the back-burner until then.

"Jon Stead is a little bit different because we had gone quite a way down the line with that one anyway. We will be keeping Jon. We want to keep him.

"The details of Jon's contract will be left in terms of signing it. That will have to wait. Obviously, there is nothing we can do about that.

"It has been a bit awkward over the last few months because the talks have been going on in the background and that slightly derails things."