FC Halifax Town: “It’s probably the toughest decision I’ve ever had to make in management” says Wild

The Town skipper has been made available for transfer, along with defender Jacob Hanson.

Wild says Brown was unable to commit to the club’s training programme next season, which includes players training an additional day next season.

“First and foremost, the thing to say about Browny is he’s been an excellent servant to the club, he’s been fantastic, helped us across the last 12 months in our understanding of non-league players, and I’m sure he’ll get all the accolades he deserves from the fans, and rightly so,” Wild said.

“But at the end of the day, we’ve been public about how we need to move the club forward and take the club to the next step in its journey, the next level in how we want to do things.

“Matty was quite clear that he couldn’t commit to the way we wanted to do things, so unfortunately at that point we have a decision to make.

“We decided that we have to go our separate ways and we have to move on, and find a way forward.

“It’s disappointing but I’ve got to think about the future of the club. We know what we want so we’ve got to push forward, and unfortunately, that will now be without Matty Brown.”

Wild says he understands the reaction from Town supporters, who have expressed their disappointment at the move.

“We understand that,” he said. “It’s probably the toughest decision I’ve ever had to make in management, but at the end of the day, I’ve got to do what’s best for the long term development of this football club, and I feel that’s the case and I’m doing the right thing.

“He’s made it clear numerous times in the past that the current set-up, he could handle, but he couldn’t and didn’t want to commit to the new way of doing things.

“We wholeheartedly respect that. I was crucial in pushing through a new deal when I came in to make sure he was settled, but I have to move the club forward and unfortunately that will be without Matty Brown.

“Obviously he’s still a player at the club. He’s transfer listed, and as and when it gets sorted, we’ll then pay him the respect he deserves.

“But until then he remains our player.

“It’s been very amicable between me and Matty, it’s not as though we’ve fallen out in any way, shape or form.”

Full-back Hanson joined Town from Bradford City after an impressive loan spell under Jamie Fullarton, but has found appearances limited under Wild.

“Unfortunately Jacob’s had limited opportunities this year. We feel that would be the same going forward,” Wild said.

“He’s a young lad who needs to play football, he needs to move on as a footballer, and if I feel I can’t give him those opportunities here then I have to be fair to the lad and give him that opportunity to go and play regular football elsewhere.

“With the whole retained and released list, what we’ve tried to be is fair to players we feel might not get the opportunity they want next year and not just use them as bench fillers, for want of a better phrase.”

Josh Macdonald, another fans’ favourite, has been released after five years at The Shay.

“Josh, like Matty, has been a fantastic servant to the football club. Again, he’s had limited opportunities, probably because of the way we’ve played and set-up this year,” Wild said.

“But I think Josh now needs a fresh challenge, I think he needs to go and find himself again and go and get back to playing and doing what he does on a regular basis.

“It was unfortunate that at the time we came in, he was injured and then the lads in his position had done well, and he just didn’t get that chance to force his way in, so he’s another one who needs to go away and go and enjoy his football again.

“He goes with our best wishes and deserves all the accolades he’ll get from the fans.”

Also released, along with Will Appleyard, Jerome Binnom-Williams and Liam Nolan, is striker Jack Redshaw, who Wild signed halfway through the 2019-20 season.

“Jack, with the way we want to set-up next season, I can’t guarantee him the game-time that he wants,” Wild said.

“We feel like the way we want to play and having Jack around it won’t suit both parties so, again, I can utilise his money in a different way to make sure I get the best out of the way we want to play.”

That leaves defenders Jay Benn, Nathan Clarke, Michael Duckworth and Niall Maher, midfielders Jeff King, Cameron King, Jack Earing, Charlie Cooper, Josh Staunton and Danny Williams, strikers Jamie Allen and Tobi Sho-Silva and goalkeeper Sam Johnson as players already under contract or who have been offered new deals.

“We’ve given them a tight turnaround because of the announcement of the EFL season,” said Wild.

“Our announcement is hopefully pending, I don’t know what that is, so I’ve got to move quickly.”If lads want to accept what’s on the table, then great, if they don’t then we have to go and find replacements for them.

“They’ve been given quite a quick turnaround to accept or decline and then, if they decline I have to move on, and if they accept then fantastic.”

Should all those offered contracts accept them, Wild says that would leave space for about seven new arrivals, taking the squad up to his preferred number of 20.

“In and around yeah. We need to bring some experience, some quality, some goals. They’re all high on our priority list.

“We’re quite clear in our targets and what we want.”