Manager Keith Hill offers his thoughts on the departure of Joe Bunney, who joined Northampton Town for an undisclosed fee on Tuesday…
He told iFollow: “Joe was offered a contract to stay and we’ve been doing that since the beginning of the season. It became obvious that he wasn’t going to sign his contract, and I believe that rumours and sportsmanship/ gamesmanship going on behind the scenes undermined our position with Joe at the football club. The best solution at the time was for us to accept the bid from Northampton.
“We’ve had some marvellous times with Joe and great moments over the five years, from him being a centre-forward to then a left-back, but again, it’s football business and business that best suits the football club.
“We have to make sure that we take care of the club’s best interests, and we feel as though this served the club’s best interests both in the short-term and in the long-term.
“I also believe it suited Joe as well, and I have nothing but admiration for Joe. He has done brilliant for me over the five years at the football club.
“He’s got a good foundation now [having been at this club], so whether it’s at Northampton now or a bigger club in the future, Joe is best prepared for his footballing future.
“He has served Rochdale really well and we’ve got what we consider to be the right amount of money for him at this period of his time here, and regardless of who we sold him to, it made perfect business sense.
“From a football sense, we have recruited to replace and to go again over the remaining 20 games.”
Watch the full interview on iFollow.