YATE Town manager Rob Cousins believes Lewis Haldane had his head turned by other clubs during the summer.

The club announced on Thursday that the former Bristol Rovers and Port Vale striker has left by mutual consent and he is now expected to take a break from football.

A dip in form and a loss of appetite for the game were also mentioned by Cousins as reasons why Haldane has moved on, while the club’s top scorer was also unable to commit to training regularly and had to travel further after moving homes.

“Lewis decided he needed a break from football and we felt it was the right time to move on without him,” said Cousins.

“Our conversation about parting company was amicable. Lewis is a nice lad and goes with our best wishes but it is now time for young strikers Jordan Rogers, Jake Jackson, Jordan Ricketts and Nuno Felix to blossom.

“Lewis has been unsettled from the start of the season due to other clubs showing an interest and the change of formation on the pitch.

“The new formation required some flexibility in the way we play and for it to work all 11 had to adhere to it and at times Lewis did struggle to adapt.

“Lewis is a proven goalscorer and we heavily relied on his contribution last year.

“For us to make a sustained challenge for promotion we needed to change the way we played to enable goals from other areas of the pitch.

“As a striker you can still contribute in other ways when you’re not scoring goals or getting chances, it’s a team effort.”