DANIEL IDIAKHOA

Mark Burke has made the following statement on the departure of Daniel Idiakhoa in the build up to the weekend’s match against Bromsgrove Sporting.

I was very surprised, when Dan Idiakoha informed me that he was leaving the Club to join AFC Dunstable in the build up to our match against Bromsgrove, despite giving me assurances that he was not going to leave Hitchin.

I completely understood his desire to return to full time football and that a 4 year football scholarship in the USA is an excellent opportunity for him in the Summer but I could not understand why this move was contingent on him joining AFC Dunstable for the remainder of the season.

Dan informed me that it was parties at AFC Dunstable that were organising his placement at University in America and they felt joining them would be beneficial to him as he waited for confirmation of his place.

Again, I can understand this as the lesser level of commitment required at Step 4 as opposed to Step 3 would allow him to concentrate on preparing for his move abroad in the Summer, however I did ask him to stay with us for the 2 matches against Bromsgrove and AFC Sudbury and then join AFC Dunstable as they were two very important matches for us and Dan agreed to this proposal to stay and fight for us in these matches.

Therefore, I was bitterly disappointed that after originally agreeing to stay and help , he then changed his mind overnight after consulting his agent and decided to move on immediately.

Unfortunately, having to deal with 3rd parties is becoming part and parcel of football at our level and it is certainly making recruitment and building squads with longevity more and more difficult but we will continue to try and identify good players that have the right characteristics and mentality to play for Hitchin Town FC.