Athletic defend Hughes decision

LEE HUGHES (right) has now left Athletic for Blackpool

ATHLETIC have defended their decision to allow top scorer Lee Hughes to join Coca-Cola Championship club Blackpool on loan for the remainder of the season.

The Seasiders made a surprise move for 18-goal Hughes, who is out of contract this summer, two hours before yesterday’s transfer deadline for emergency loans.

“This is not a sign that we have given up on trying to qualify for the play-offs,” said manager Joe Royle. “But we have not been scoring with Lee in the side, which is why I wanted to try something different.”

Athletic have been unhappy with the form of 32-year-old Hughes in the second half of the campaign and it is widely expected he will move on this summer when his contract at Boundary Park expires.

Chief executive Alan Hardy said: “Lee’s form since January, when there was transfer speculation about his future, has disappointed both John Sheridan and Joe Royle.

“Lee was not included in the squad for tomorrow’s league game at Leyton Orient as the manager wanted to look at younger strikers.

“If Joe was not going to use the player for the rest of the season, there is no point him sitting here doing nothing.”

Royle added the decision to allow Hughes to leave was his alone and was not done for financial reasons.

He revealed he had earlier made an unsuccessful bid to bring in Crystal Palace striker Alan Lee before he joined Norwich City on loan.

Athletic have also confirmed that the January offer of a new two-year contract to Hughes, which would have made him the club’s highest-paid player, had been withdrawn some time ago.

Hughes is being linked with a summer move to Leicester, the runaway League One leaders, while Doncaster, who tried to sign him in January, remain interested.

Lewis Alessandra is set to replace Hughes for tomorrow’s game at Leyton Orient, where Stefan Stam and Ian Westlake, both ineligible in midweek, will also be in the starting line-up.

Neal Eardley, a substitute in midweek, is on international duty with Wales, but Kieran Lee is included in the squad for the first time under Royle.

Athletic (from): Supple, Fleming, Lee, Lomax, Hazell, Gregan, Stam, Jones, Taylor, Westlake, Maher, Allott, Whitaker, Alessandra, Kabba, Smalley, Liddell, Ferreira.