Young defender John Swift has agreed a new one-year deal with City.

And the club are also stepping up their efforts to hang on to centre half Mark Bower.

Meetings have already taken place with the 25-year-old and his representative and more talks are planned for tomorrow.

City are keen to tie up Bradford-born Bower on a long-term deal but know they are likely to face competition for his services.

Bower is the only ever present in the City side this season and has established himself with a string of consistent performances.

His partnership with David Wetherall is regarded as one of the best central pairings in League One.

Chairman Julian Rhodes said: "The way Mark is playing, there will be other clubs looking at him but we are hopeful of getting something sorted.

"We've met his agent a couple of times already and we're due to speak again."

A one-year contract is still on the table for Nicky Summerbee, while Peter Atherton is also likely to be made an offer.

Right back Swift, 20, has played three times this season since making his debut against Colchester in November. Colin Todd said: "When John's come in, I've had no worries with him. It will be interesting to see how he gets on with a run of five or six games in the side."

Meanwhile, Todd is warning City there is no room for complacency at relegation-threatened Peterborough on Saturday.

Posh are one off the bottom but Todd said: "We will go there expecting a real battle on our hands. Just because they are second from bottom doesn't give you a divine right to turn up and win."

Other results have gone well for City this week with play-off rivals Hartlepool and Bournemouth both losing.

Todd added: "People are starting to slip up, but it's about what we do ourselves. If we do our own things right then we can start looking at other teams.

"The Bournemouth result just shows that Blackpool aren't a bad side. But I hope the point that we lost there doesn't come back to haunt us."