Soccer: Fury coach silent on contracts

North Queensland Fury coach Ian Ferguson says he won't reveal which of his players will get new deals until the end of the season.

The Fury kept alive hopes of making the finals in their debut A-League season with a shock 1-0 win over Melbourne on Sunday.

That victory lifted them to 24 points, just two behind sixth-placed Brisbane with six matches left to play.

But with several players coming off contract at the end of the season including first-team regulars Jeremy Brockie, Rostyn Griffiths and Chris Grossman, Ferguson says he wants to avoid distractions for his squad and won't be discussing deals until at least finals time.

"Because it's such a crucial time I really don't want to speak about that, I don't want that to get in the way because it might upset some while some might be happy."

One player whom Ferguson is willing to discuss is on-loan English-born defender Matt Smith. The Brisbane Strikers' player is four weeks into a six-week deal with the Fury and Ferguson said he was keen to keep the 27-year-old.

"We're speaking to Matty right now and hopefully pretty soon we'll have something to announce," he said.

"We're pretty close on trying to extend Matty's stay here, he likes it here ... he's been one of our better players, he's been fantastic for us in the last three-four games."

- AAP