Club Didn’t Offer Roberts A New Contract

Dario Gradi has confirmed that the club didn’t offer Gary Roberts a contract extension before placing him on the transfer list.

It was originally thought that the 21 year old midfielder had rejected the offer to extend his contract beyond his current one, which expires in 12 months time.

However, it was off-pitch problems and poor performances that led to the club to put the academy graduate up for sale. Last season Roberts was disciplined on two occasions by the club; once for failing to turn up for training and a second time for an unconfirmed reason.

Dario says these incidents didn’t help Roberts on the pitch and a new challenge will do him good.

Speaking to The Sentinel: ‘Gary has always had off-pitch problems. They’re not insurmountable, but they effect his performance on the pitch.

‘He has not done enough for us to extend his contract. Perhaps a new challenge is the best thing for him.’

Roberts has recently been linked to seven Championship clubs with the likes of Blackpool and Doncaster Rovers thought to be front runners.