GRIMSBY Town boss Paul Hurst has shed some light on Ritchie Jones' sudden departure.
As reported, the midfielder's contract was terminated earlier this week by mutual consent.
And Hurst has revealed the difficult decision was taken because of the former Manchester United youngster's personal issues.
He explained: "Ritchie came to me and said that he didn't feel like he could give his all to the football club at this time.
"If he's not in that right mind-set then we felt it was right for both parties to have his deal terminated.
"He knows that he can't sign for anyone in our league or above until January so it's not like he's trying to do it for the wrong reasons.
"He enjoyed his time here but circumstances dictated that he felt he couldn't give his all to the club and fair play to him for saying that.
"The reasons behind that are personal to Ritchie and that's how it will stay – in truth, I didn't delve too far into it myself.
"But when someone comes to you and says they don't want to play football at the moment then it's pretty clear.
"He's got to get his head around that at the minute and he needs time – we wish him all the best."
He continued: "Ritchie was fit although he obviously had a few niggles during his time with us, but he was someone who came into my thinking before the Barnet game.
"This all came about last week but I didn't want a snap decision from him so I told him to think about it.
"But he came back and didn't feel any different, so we came to the decision we did.
"He'll be a big loss to us. He was something different to what we already had in the squad.
"I'd have preferred him to be with us but I didn't think it was fair to keep a player who wasn't in the right frame of mind.
"It's wouldn't have been fair to him or us."
Via Twitter, Jones thanked Town fans for their messages of support following his departure.
He posted: "Thanks to all the Grimsby fans for the messages. It's a top club which will go far. I wish everyone all the very best."
