Dolby has been in talks with club chairman Dave Walters after guiding Hastings to safety in the Ryman Premier.

The former Tonbridge Angels boss and assistant manager Mike Rutherford took over at The Pilot Field in January with the sole intention of hauling Hastings out of the relegation zone, a feat achieved by their comfortable 3-0 win at Leyton on the final day of the season.

All the while Hastings' fate was undecided Dolby had insisted he wouldn't discuss his own future beyond the current campaign.

"It's a little bit of a delicate situation," he said. "There are quite a few mitigating circumstances. I need to take into account what's best for the club and what's best for myself. We're covering all the angles and I'm not going to be rushed into anything."

Walters said: "A couple of things need to be resolved, some are football related and some are not." One of the considerations is bound to be the fact that Dolby lives some 50 miles away in Chislehurst.

When Dolby took over Hastings were staring relegation square in the face but a return of nine wins from 17 games saw them finish in 14th position - three points clear of the bottom four.

Walters went on: "For quite a while it didn't look like we were going to survive and he's done the job that he was brought in for and that's a credit to him. The players like and respect him which is important."

The chairman has spoken of his relief at avoiding an immediate return to Ryman Division One South after securing promotion via the play-offs last year. "This season has been more intense, more absorbing and more stressful," he said. "Had we gone down financially it would have been awful."