Paul Holleran and Kieran Dunbar have come to an agreement which will see the player leave the club in pursuit of more regular first team opportunities elsewhere, while continuing his work at the Brakes Academy.
‘Myself and Kieran had a chat over the weekend,’ said the manager. ‘Kieran had a conversation with me at the start of pre season. He knows he’s at an age where getting more first team minutes is key for him, and he just didn’t want to be in the same situation as he was at the back end of last season. I don’t think that has changed much, so we’ve had a little bit of interest in him, he’s spoken to a couple of other clubs and will decide what he wants to do. As much as he is a great kid and we love having him around it’s the best thing for Kieran, there’s no doubt about that. He’s been a great professional since the moment he came through the door; he does a lot of work with our Academy and the Community which he will continue to do. He is still registered with the football club, but there are lots of things that Kieran is involved with here and will continue to be involved with, but just that scenario of getting some regular first team football - it’s something where probably having that lay off the season before last with his injury…… Even though your heart would like it to be a different decision, your head and his head knows that he needs to go and do that now, he needs to go and play 20, 30 games, get himself up and running again; because obviously when you come back from an injury and you’re in and out a bit it’s hard to get momentum and get form, so it’s something he’s going to do and we’ll monitor it carefully.
‘In a sense he’s not leaving because he still works for the football club, he’ll still be doing a lot here for us, but what’s best for Kieran is that and we’ll be supporting him as best we can, as we’ve always tried to do through his injury and everything else.’
Kieran had this to say: ‘I’ve really enjoyed the last three seasons playing for Leamington; it’s been a fantastic club to represent on the pitch. Due to the lack of time I’ve spent on the pitch recently the gaffer and I decided it would be the right decision to ensure I’m getting first team football elsewhere. Thankfully I will still be involved with this great club and continuing my academy coaching role, helping to ensure that the pathway from academy to first team football is a very real and achievable thing for all the youngsters we are taking on board.’
Everybody at the club wishes Kieran all the best with his future career on the pitch, and it will be great to still see him around the place working with the youngsters.
