Rebuild job for Robinson at Morecambe
NEW Morecambe manager Stephen Robinson faces a rebuilding job as he gets to work following the club’s promotion to League One.
He has released eight players, including long-serving Alex Kenyon and Stephen Hendrie, as he reshapes his squad.
Yann Songo’o has opted to leave to “pursue other opportunities”.
Striker Cole Stockton has signed a new two-year contract, keeping him with the club until the summer of 2023, while Robinson has offered new deals to Toumani Diagouraga, Liam Gibson, John O’sullivan, Kyle Letherhen and Kelvin Mellor.
One-year contract extensions have also been triggered for play-off final goalscorer Carlos Mendes Gomes, Aaron Wildig and Freddie Price. Veteran centre-back Nathaniel Knight-percival has returned to League Two, joining Tranmere Rovers yesterday.
“It’s been a tough week having to make decisions on players very quickly but we believe we have made the right decisions for the club going forward,” Robinson told the club website.
“We decided to speak to each player individually; it’s only fair to the players to do it that way, to let them know where they’re at and allow them to move on in their careers.”
The players released are Harry
Davis, Mark Halstead, Alex Kenyon, Stephen Hendrie, Liam Mcalinden, A-jay Leitch-smith, Jordan Slew and former Derby County midfielder Ben Pringle.
Wigan Athletic have shown they are prepared to splash the cash, not least in signing former Portsmouth captain and ex-brewer Tom Naylor, but they have lost promising 19-year-old striker Kyle Joseph.
Although Joseph’s contract expires this summer, Championship side Swansea City are paying around £500,000 for him as he is under 24.
Joseph broke through last season and scored a hat-trick in Wigan’s 4-3 win against Burton at the Pirelli Stadium.