Dundee boss John Brown has admitted it was “murder” breaking the news to some of his squad that they would not be offered new deals with the club.
The manager is preparing the club for life next season in the First Division and operating on a much-reduced budget. Cuts need to be made and the Dark Blues have no choice but to let players go.
Striker Steven Milne has confirmed on a social networking site that he is one of them, saying: “Officially left Dundee today. Had a great 10 years at the club. Here’s hoping that they can go straight back up next season.”
Brown was not prepared to reveal the names of others given the grim news, although he confessed professional football was a harsh environment.
He said: “I have been speaking to the boys and there are a few who will not be offered contracts. It is murder doing that as a manager but that’s what happens when you move from the SPL to the SFL.
“Your budget is slashed and you just cannot afford to keep players on the money they were earning in the Premier League.”
“I am not going to mention any names at the moment but with the budget we have, we need to keep things tight. We also had to release some of the young lads last week, which is always difficult to do.”
“That’s the reality of football now. It is a harder game for players as squads are tighter and it is more difficult to find a position in the professional game anyway.
“We have also offered deals to others and they are thinking about it and will let us know soon whether they will agree to the contract or decide to move on.
“These things tend to happen quite quickly if they have offers elsewhere and we cannot match it.”
Brown admitted he was disappointed with the manner of the defeat against Kilmarnock last week, although he acknowledged that after his side’s relegation was confirmed a fortnight ago against Aberdeen, it was understandable performance levels dipped a bit.
However, he has demanded a big response when his players travel to Easter Road to play a Hibs side with an upcoming Scottish Cup Final occupying their thoughts.
He said: “We were disappointed last week with the poor goals we lost.
“The boys had been pushing to the limits in recent weeks and putting in some great performances so I can understand why we weren’t at our best after the Aberdeen game and getting relegated.
“But we have told them we are looking for a response this week. We will need to show character as all these Hibs boys are fighting for positions in that cup final squad.
“It doesn’t come round too often, to get that opportunity of taking part in a cup final, so they will be vying for a place and be really up for it.”
Brown antagonised Hibs counterpart Pat Fenlon last month when the Dens boss described the Edinburgh side as “woeful”.
However, Brown insists it was all in jest as he tried to fire up Hibs for a game against the Dark Blues’ relegation rivals St Mirren.
He smiled: “I get stick everywhere I go so Hibs will be no different! It was all just tongue in cheek stuff but it seems to have fired them up for the cup final.”