Gills boss delivers his reaction to the club's retained list
Justin Edinburgh says it was a tough decision to allow four players to leave the club.The Gills boss released his retained list on Thursday afternoon with Danny Galbraith, Gavin Hoyte, Leon Legge and Joe Martin to leave MEMS Priestfield Stadium following the expiration of their current deals.
The Manager revealed it was a difficult process but believes the choices made are in the best interests of the club.
Speaking to the media he said: “There are always tough decisions to be made when releasing players but in terms of going forwards I just felt it was the right decision for myself and the Football Club.
“Some of the conversations will remain personal but with the players we let go we wish them all the best for the future and I certainly feel in allowing Gavin Hoyte and Leon Legge to go were probably some of the toughest decisions I’ve had to make in my managerial career because they have played the majority of the games since I have taken over.
“I feel that we need to go in a different direction, they were tough decisions but ones which I felt were the right ones to call.”
Attention will now turn to recruitment and Justin has already made contact with some individuals as he looks to build a competitive squad for the 2015/16 campaign.
He added: “It’s a chance for me to add my own personnel to this group and if we can get that right then we can be very competitive next season.
“With allowing these players to leave it does free up finances to add to the squad with hopefully one or two players coming in.
“It’s a funny time of the season because there will be lots of clubs looking at certain individuals and I’ve learned with experience that you keep it to yourself until a signature is put down.
“We’ve made contacts with the players we would like, some are still involved in playoff competitions so hopefully we can get a few in sooner rather than later but we need to be patient and diligent in our work.”