PITTSBURGH - The Pittsburgh Pirates have talked to Lloyd McClendon about returning for a sixth year as manager despite not yet having a winning season under him, and he is encouraged he will be back - and with a much better club.

General manager Dave Littlefield said there is no deadline for picking up McClendon's club option for next season. But there are no signs the Pirates are looking to replace their manager.

"Dave and I have had conversations, and they've been very productive conversations," McClendon said Friday. "To be honest, I don't even think about it. ... I know my general manager wants me here and we're all together. Everything has been real positive."

If he comes back in 2006, McClendon expects to field a much stronger club than any of the five he's had to date. The Pirates have broken in a succession of promising young players - including 2004 NL rookie of the year Jason Bay, plus pitchers Oliver Perez, Zach Duke, Sean Burnett, Ian Snell and Mike Gonzalez and second baseman Jose Castillo - they have dumped nearly all of their budget-straining contracts.

After dealing catcher Jason Kendall last winter, and with Matt Lawton and Mark Redman likely to depart next, the Pirates probably won't have a player currently on their roster making more than shortstop Jack Wilson's $4.6 million next season. That means they could far more flexibility next winter to add veteran players.

"I think particularly starting next year and the coming years, there's going to be some flexibility with payroll " said McClendon, an outfielder for the Pirates' last division championship team in 1992.

The Pirates figure to again receive more than $10 million in revenue sharing, and could get $10 million to $15 million as their share of the Washington Nationals' franchise sale.

"We've talked about the fact there will be financial flexibility next year because we don't have the contracts we've had in the past, and we will have the ability to go out and get some pieces ... that's going to allow us to do some things and get better," McClendon said. "I'd like to be part of that because I've worked my rear end off to get to this point, but we'll see how it plays out."

Despite being nearly 100 games under .500 since replacing Gene Lamont in 2001, McClendon has drawn nearly across-the-board praise from his players for his competitiveness and for being supportive of them.

Lawton and Redman recently offered strong endorsements of McClendon, saying they would like to stay in Pittsburgh largely because of the manager.

"I love playing for Lloyd McClendon. He's the best manager I've ever had," said Redman, whose previous managers include Jack McKeon, Ken Macha and Tom Kelly.

Littlefield also recently offered strong support for McClendon, saying, "I'm very satisfied with Lloyd and I think he's doing a fine job."

McClendon believes the Pirates have improved significantly since his 100-loss season as a rookie manager in 2001, even if it's not yet reflected in his record. The Pirates have lost at least 87 games in each of McClendon's first four seasons, and are on pace on lose 90 games this season.

"I think you'd be hard pressed to get anybody to say we're not better ... and certainly heading in the right direction," said McClendon, the first manager in the club's 118-year history brought back following four consecutive losing seasons. "I think I've established myself at this level and I love being here and hopefully the people upstairs want me.

"If that's not the case, I'll pack my bags and ride out."

AP-ES-07-08-05 1837EDT