Skivo Left Frustrated By 'Cherry-Picking' Of Players

Yeovil Town manager Terry Skiverton has sounded his frustration at losing some of his key players over this summer, as he attempts to build on the strong finish that the Glovers managed to the 2010-11 season. Having voluntarily released four players at the end of last season, four more players have made the decision not to sign new contracts, with three already finding new clubs.

With League One sides Carlisle United and Chesterfield having snapped up Andy Welsh and Nathan Smith respectively, and Adam Virgo having signed for League Two side Bristol Rovers, the Glovers have lost some significant experience. Speaking to BBC Somerset, Skiverton felt that rivals clubs had been 'cherry picking' the best of his playing squad:

"A lot of players come to Yeovil, including myself as a footballer, on their knees. We work with them, we get them back onto their feet, so that at the end of the day they walk away because other clubs are interested. For me, I feel that other clubs have cherry-picked our players this year. I offered a few contracts out at Christmas and agents said no, we want to hang on until the summer and see what comes, and that's football."

Of the players Skiverton has lost this summer, the Glovers boss singled out left-back Nathan Smith's departure as the one that hurt him the most. However, he pointed out that he was already looking at replacements for the 24 year old:

"Out of everybody, he was the one that I really wanted to keep. We pushed the boat out and we went beyond the point of what we would normally offer. But I spoke to the lad this morning (Thursday) and he wanted a fresh start. He felt that he'd been at Yeovil for a little while now. He thanked everyone for the work that we'd done with him. Am I disappointed he's gone? Yes, I'm very disappointed. He was an excellent servant to the football club. I've played with him, managed him and you couldn't have got a better player. As for this football club, we move on and I've already got two or three left-backs that I'm talking to."