Barnet have made a dramatic 11th hour bid to keep star winger Albert Adomah at Underhill by offering him a 20 per cent increase on a contract offer that was the largest in the history of the club.

The 22-year-old Adomah, who has scored 20 goals in 111 starts and nine substitute appearances since joining the Bees from Harrow Borough in January 2008, has attracted big money bids from Championship clubs that Barnet have rejected.

When transfer talks with Blackpool broke down two hours before the end of last summer's transfer window deadline, chairman Tony Kleanthous said that the club would not stand in Adomah's way - as with any player - if an acceptable offer was received. Adomah later turned down the offer of a lucrative new deal in November.

The latest bid to persuade Adomah to stay is a final offer but shows the club's ambitions and the desire for crowd favourite Adomah to stay.

Although the players have broken up for the close season, there is much activity at Underhill.

Work is now going ahead on new floodlights at the ground in preparation for the coming season starting with pre-season games in July. There will be four new corner installations at 500 lux as opposed to the old max. 350 lux system.

The process of choosing a team manager in succession to Ian Hendon is also under way. The club has received several applications for the post and hope to make an appointment "sooner rather than later" to give the new incumbent as much time as possible to assemble his squad for the new campaign.

Dennis Signy