Clark said the next few weeks would be a time to complete contracts but he declined to name the players the franchise had on its books already.
"We are sitting around 20 players at the moment for 2013 and the nucleus of the squad this year has re-signed," Clark said.
"There are no players that Jamie wants to re-sign that either have not signed or are not looking at signing. That is critical.
"A couple of years ago, there was a bit of a player flight.
People want to be here and that is good."
He said some players had not put pen to paper as they were working through contracts, and agents were out of the country.
"When you are doing as many players as we are, then it is going to take a bit of time.
"But I'm confident the squad that Jamie wants to put together is pretty close to happening."
There are six positions in the squad which can not be filled until after the ITM Cup, along with the eight wider training squad members.
"Those 14 players will come out of ITM Cup.
"I think it is a really important process that there is a pathway from the ITM Cup to the Super 15. So it is exciting times coming up for the Otago and Southland teams," Clark said.
"There are some good, exciting, young players in those teams ... and we want to see some of those put their hand up and say to Jamie Joseph, 'I want to be in the Highlanders in 2013'."
Clark said there were not a lot of players on the market, as franchise contracting tied up players tightly.
"I think there will be a big emphasis now on coaches actually coaching the players and making them better.
"And also focusing on the young talent coming through and making sure that they get the opportunity."
Looking back on the season, Clark said missing the playoffs was tough to take but there were positives for the Highlanders.
"Obviously, we did not achieve the end result we were after because we did not make the playoffs but it is pretty hard to not look back on this season and say we have made progress both on and off the field.
"The crowds are well and truly up again.
"Jamie and the team have got the support in behind the Highlanders again and we need to maintain that.
"If you look at the nine wins we have had and how close the competition is, then we have made progress."
Crowds averaged above 17,500 for games at Forsyth Barr Stadium and though Clark attributed some of that to people wanting to watch rugby in a new stadium, team performance also helped.
Signing Joseph up for another two years was an easy decision, he said.
"It was a no-brainer for us.
"It is just as important to sign him now as it was two years ago.
"I think he has added a huge amount to the franchise, and added a lot of credibility to the franchise."
Joseph said he had not made a decision on whether he would be keen to coach the New Zealand Maori team on its end-of-year tour, as he was waiting to hear about the exact details of the trip.
