Charlie MacDonald has gone back to London after being told that the option for an extra year’s contract would not be taken up. The 33-year-old regrets having not shown his top form as he thinks he is capable of doing. He was hit by injuries and the former Brentford, MK Franchise and Leyton Orient forward admitted that his thigh injury in November was a severe blow from which he never recovered.
MacDonald said, “Lee Johnson was straight with me and said that financially the club couldn’t take up the option. I’m disappointed to leave, as I feel that the fans haven’t seen the best of me. Injuries have had a big impact. But saying that, I have made 15 starts and scored five goals. That’s probably the best average at the club. Until the injury I felt quite sharp. It was a struggle after that. I move on, but I wish the club all the best in the future. I’ll sit down with my advisors and we will look at the options. It is usually slow at the start of summer in terms of clubs signing players, so it will probably take time. I still feel there is plenty of football left in me.”
One-year options have been taken up on defender James Wilson, midfielder Carl Winchester, left-back David Mellor and defender Genseric Kusunga and Athletic have offered new contracts to right-back Connor Brown, goalkeeper Paul Rachubka and midfielder James Wesolowski. Other players to depart Boundary Park are the current longest-serving player Kirk Millar, Danny Gosset and Terry Dunfield and it looks like defender Jonathan Grounds could be heading for Birmingham City.