ALLAN JOHNSTON says that Athletic have not given up hope of keeping Faissal El Bakhtaoui as the player continues to weigh up his future.

Speculation continues to mount over where the 30-goal hitman will be playing his football next season as Premiership side Motherwell expressed their interest in securing his services at the weekend.

Fir Park boss Mark McGhee admitted he was an admirer of Pars’ French-Moroccan star but any move would be dependent on whether they were successful in their attempts to tie veteran striker Scott MacDonald down on a new deal.

El Bakhtaoui was a notable absentee from the club’s Player of the Year event on Saturday night at the Glen Pavilion, where he won every award on offer except the under-20 player of the season, which went to Lewis Martin.

He is currently back home in France as he mulls over his next move, while other first-team regulars, including Josh Falkingham and Michael Moffat, are no clearer as to where their future lies.

Neither player has yet to be offered a deal but Johnston insists that does not mean they will definitely be leaving the club – in the same way El Bakhtaoui’s return home is not necessarily the end of his Dunfermline career.

He said: “He (El Bakhtaoui) is back in France at the moment but the situation is that we’ve made him a really good offer and he’s waiting to see what offers he has.

“We have not been ruled out and are not out of the running; that’s what happens when people do well.

“We’re also looking at our options; we have to make sure that we get the right players and take our time because we’ve got a budget as well.

“Some of the players who have been offered contracts have signed and some are still deciding.

“We need to get some other players signed up as well from the current squad but it is difficult when you have so many players out of contract.

“The picture will become clearer in the next couple of weeks when other teams’ seasons end.”

Meanwhile, the Pars boss has been busy taking in a number of matches since they lifted the League One trophy against Peterhead and knows he must strengthen if they want to compete at the top of the Championship next season.

A total of 550 season tickets have already been snapped up by eager fans excited for their return to the second tier and Johnston continued: “I’ve been to a couple of games; I was at Hibs v Raith Rovers and Livingston on Saturday and I also went to the Hibs-Falkirk game on Tuesday night.

“They are two very good teams and it gives you an indication of what we need to do to challenge.

“We need to strengthen because it is a big step up but a lot of the guys have played at that level before, like Joe Cardle, Michael Paton, Andy Geggan and Sean Murdoch.

“It gives us a chance to look at players and opponents which I think is important.

“From what I’ve seen of Falkirk and Raith Rovers, they are good defensively and hard to beat so it’s important we recruit well but I am confident the guys we have can step up to that level.”