Reuben Hazell has told of his reluctance to leave Boundary Park after turning down a one-year contract offer. Hazell has played more than 150 games for the club and was captain of the team.
He said, “I'm the leader of the team, not just at the back and I thought I was pretty integral and deserved a rise. I wasn't asking for much, a couple of hundred quid a week extra and a two-year contract. At this stage of my career I have to look out for myself and I have a family to think about. The manager backed me but then came back and said the board weren't having it and had offered me a year and an extra £100 a week. I was absolutely gutted. Apparently they've got a new policy of not giving more than a year contract to anyone over 30. They have their reasons and that's fair enough. Obviously I have no resale value but I thought I was worth it.”
“We've been paid on time for the last couple of months and I would have loved to have ended my career here. The deciding factor was when they said it was only going to be a year. I thought I was worth more than that. It's a rat race out there, it really is, but I've got a couple of good years left in me and I back my own ability. It's been a great four years and I've got a lot of friends there. The fans always backed me and I'll miss them. I'm going to go back in to say goodbye to everyone from the laundry women to the club shop staff. They have a reduced budget but they have got the right man for the job and he has the right team behind him. I've seen the fixtures and they need to get off to a good start.”