Cambridge United head coach Garry Monk has opened up on the ‘tough’ decisions that the club recently made to release a number of their young players at the end of the season.
While Monk only arrived at the Cledara Abbey Stadium last month and has had little time to get to know the players in question, he was still involved in the process alongside other staff members.
He said: “I’ve been in a short space of time and haven’t seen a great deal of those players, but it’s not just about this period or this season. These types of decisions are accounted for over a period of time.
“It’s always tough making those decisions on young players. I’ve been through it myself and obviously I’ve been on this side of it where you’re making decisions or being part of the decision making process. They’re really difficult decisions to make.
“As a club you try to make the right decision – not just for the club but the player themselves. I know it doesn’t feel like it at the time, but unfortunately this is a part of the business where you have to make decisions.
“Unfortunately for young players, you either earn a contract or you don’t. That’s just the brutality of football.
“The support that you give the players is that it’s not the end of the road. It’s not that they’re not good enough, it’s just at this moment in time they’re not quite right for what we need. That doesn’t mean they can’t go somewhere else, continue their journey and prosper.
“What you hope is they kick on and sometimes players just need a new environment.”
Chief among those to be leaving is Kai Yearn, an England youth international who was one of the stars of the historic run to the FA Youth Cup quarter-finals last season.
The 18-year-old, who joined the club as an Under-9, has made seven senior appearances – the most recent of which came in the EFL Trophy last November.
News of Yearn’s impending departure caused some surprise among the fanbase, leading some to speculate whether it was the club’s decision or had the teenager opted to move on himself?
Asked about the situation, Monk added: “There’s always that dynamic. Sometimes there’s a mutual decision that you have to come to. It doesn’t always have to be mutual and it can be one way or the other or both.
“It’s not just about talent – and this has nothing to do with Kai – but sometimes it’s just timing. You can be super talented and you might not do enough. Or you might be unlucky – it’s the situation you find yourself in.
“Obviously I haven’t seen a lot of Kai. In terms of first-team decisions, you’re trying to pick players you think are ready and that they can deliver in this situation.
“But it happens. All I can say is from being in the conversations when it comes to these decisions and hearing what everyone is saying – and even my own views from a short space of time – you try to make decisions with the right intentions.
“Of course number one is what’s best for us – that’s the nature of the beast. But then secondly you support the player when you’ve made the decision.
“Ultimately what you want as coaches is for them to go and find a path and prosper elsewhere. I hope all those players go and prosper and we see them playing in a couple of years at a really good level and kicking on.
“Even when that happens criticism comes, people asking why did we let them go? I’ve been in that situation and sometimes they need a different environment. Often when you’ve come through an academy, you’ve been there from such a young age and you come to a point where it’s not quite happening for you, or you’re not quite where you thought you would be or we thought you would be, sometimes that new environment is the release.
“There’s no explanation behind that, it just happens and I’m hoping that’s the case for these players.
“Even if one of them turns out to be an unbelievable player, it’s not something to beat (the club) with a stick about. That’s what you want to happen, it’s just at this moment in time it’s not going to happen quick enough for us.
“There’s a lot of complexity in decisions like this but we wish all of them players all the best and we’ll support them beyond this. We’ll give them support and try to guide them.”
