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Knill let down by Stephens' exit

12/ 6/2008

BURY boss Alan Knill feels let down by Dale Stephens after the young midfielder jumped ship to join higher league near neighbours Oldham.

Knill said: "I got the news that Dale wasn’t going to accept his new contract offer on the morning that I went away to Majorca for four days.

"I eventually got hold of him and told him ‘you will play a lot more next season’.

"Then, all of a sudden, we receive confirmation that he would not be signing no matter what and he did not want any more offers. Then, all of a sudden, he was going to sign for Oldham.

"It annoys me because you just want somebody to be truthful. I was truthful with him but I feel that all along he has probably known (that he was going elsewhere).

"Why didn’t he just come and say so?

"With the greatest respect to Dale, I can’t see him playing 46 games for Oldham. Maybe in the reserves, but not in Oldham’s first team.

"All we can do is move on, take Oldham’s money and invest it in somebody that we think will be better than Dale."

A fee for Stephens will be decided by a tribunal.

He played just 12 first team games for Bury having come through the Gigg Lane club’s youth system.

And his only first team goal for the club, which came against Bradford City earlier this year, was voted Bury’s goal of the season.

Stephens spent part of last season on loan at non-league side Droylsden and Oldham’s interest in the player was first known when they had a bid for the teenager turned down during the January transfer window.