Head coach Martin Allen claims he will not discuss his own future at Barnet until the season is over – a policy on a par with that he has adopted for members of the playing staff too.

The 49-year-old signed a contract until the end of the 2014/15 season when he re-joined the Bees for a fourth spell last March.

Allen could not rescue a faltering season and guide Barnet into the Conference play-off places last term but instead set his sights on returning the Bees to the Football League at the second time of asking.

Barnet are currently top of the Conference by a point and with five games to go are in pole position to make their return to league football after two seasons away.

However, with five matches remaining, Allen insists he has imposed the same timeframe on talks about his own future as he has done members of the squad who are out of contract at the end of the season.

Asked after Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Alfreton Town whether talks between Allen and chairman Tony Kleanthous had begun yet or not, the former Leicester City and Brentford boss spelled out the situation.

He stated: “It has been made clear to every player and every member of staff there will be no talk about contracts until after the end of the season.

“It is the same for the players, the same for the staff and the same for me.”

Pressed on whether he would like to remain at the helm at The Hive beyond the end of the current campaign, Allen swiftly replied: “I will say exactly what I’ve just said.”

Speaking after Barnet’s crushing 5-0 victory over Welling United a week earlier, the Reading-born boss declared there would be no discussions between the club and the players whose contracts end this summer – indeed, only a handful of player are contracted beyond the summer.

He explained: “[There have been] no decisions and no thoughts, nothing will come into my mind regarding any player until the season has been completed. All the players have been told that is the way it is.

“There are to be no discussions, no chats, no questions, no nothing about next season. It is so far from my mind.

“Our job is to complete all the games we have got to play this season, whether it be six, eight or nine. We will do our job and once that is done we will sit back and work it out once we have had a long chat with the chairman.”

Allen was appointed as Peter Shreeves’ successor at Underhill in March 2003 but left a year later to take up the reins at Brentford, leaving Paul Fairclough to step into the breach and guide the Bees into the Football League the following season.

The former West Ham United and Queens Park Rangers defender returned to Barnet for the final eight games of the 2010/11 season, tasked with keeping the Bees in the 72. However, after just three unbeaten games he left to take charge of League One side Notts County.

In April 2012 the love affair between the two was re-kindled once more as Allen made a second return but after keeping Barnet up with his three matches in charge, he left again.