Rotherham United boss Paul Warne has explained more details about Kieran Sadlier's departure to Bolton Wanderers and admitted he was not willing to keep the attacker as a 'hostage'.
The 27-year-old moved to Wanderers from the Millers in the January transfer window for an undisclosed fee and has put pen to paper on a two-and-a-half year contract.
It follows Wanderers making approaches to sign Sadlier in the summer, but which did not come to pass.
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Sadlier has admitted that the move to Rotherham was ultimately the 'wrong decision' in his career and had restricted game time over the past six months with the MIllers.
Warne has now responded to Sadlier's comments and explained more details on the attacker's situation at the Millers and why he was unable to offer Sadlier the game time he sought.
Sadlier was down the pecking order in the attacking midfield role and the player was unwilling to step in as a wing-back, according to the Millers boss.
Warne also revealed that Wanderers did not want to pay a fee in the summer, before opting to do so in January, but has wished Sadlier well and sent him texts after every Wanderers appearance he has made. .
Writing in a column for the Rotherham Advertiser, Warne said: "I see that Kieran Sadlier has had a few things to say about his time with Rotherham United after his departure to Bolton Wanderers.
"Some of his frustration while he was with us revolved around him not being played in his favoured positions.
"We signed Kieran to play on the wing but then we changed formation and played wing-backs rather than wingers. He made it clear he didn’t want to play as a wing-back; he didn’t see how that helped him.
"I couldn’t offer him much game-time as an attacking midfielder instead simply because he wasn’t better than the three lads already playing centrally.
"In the summer there was interest from Bolton but they didn’t want to pay a fee, so why would we let a talented player walk out?
"I said this to Kieran at the time: ‘You tell me who I can sign for your wages who is as good as you and we can do the deal.’
"In the end, it got sorted last month. The arrival of Georgie Kelly in the January transfer window gave us another attacking player so the club allowed Kieran to leave.
"His predicament wasn’t unique. A lot of players don’t get the game-time they want. You just can’t keep them all happy. Eventually, they feel it’s better for them to leave for a different opportunity. You can keep them but then you’ve got ‘hostages’, which you don’t want.
"A lot of the stuff he did when he played for us was really good. He just felt he wanted to play somewhere else. I never had a fall-out with him and his attitude was always spot on.
"I’ve texted him after each Bolton game he’s played in. He’s come on as a substitute there and he might force his way into the team. They have good attacking options.
"Kieran goes to Bolton with our blessing. Good on him, I hope it works out for him."
