Johnnie Jackson has revealed he chose not to involve Luke McCormick once the midfielder made it clear he wanted out of AFC Wimbledon.
Bristol Rovers completed the signing of the 23-year-old former Chelsea youngster earlier this week.
McCormick did not feature for the Dons once their League Two campaign started and he was hell-bent on leaving once they suffered relegation.
Moving on a high earner freed up room in the budget for Wimbledon to sign Accrington’s Harry Pell on Wednesday.
“The boy [McCormick] made it clear he didn’t see a future at Wimbledon,” Dons boss Jackson told the South London Press.
“I’m building a squad of lads and I talk all the time about character -that I need the right people behind what I’m doing.
“He never caused me any issue and we had a civil and honest conversation. He just felt he couldn’t get behind what I was doing and saw his future elsewhere.
“With that in mind I made the decision I wasn’t going to involve people who don’t want to be here.
“No-one is bigger than the club and that’s the way I decided to deal with it.
“If you don’t want to play for the club then it is best we find a resolution the works for everybody and that’s what we managed to do.”
Cheltenham Town’s Alfie May (left) and Callum Wright (right) battle for the ball with Colchester United’s Harry Pell during the Sky Bet League Two match at Jonny-Rocks Stadium, Cheltenham. Picture date: Saturday April 24, 2021.
Pell, 30, has signed a two-year deal with Wimbledon with the fee undisclosed.
“Luke going allowed us to bring Harry in,” said Jackson. “We’ll see if that allows us to do any more, we’re not sure yet.
“Harry is a player I know a lot about. He has scored some good goals for Accrington, a couple of them against me [when he was Charlton manager].
“I think he got an inkling in pre-season that he wouldn’t be as heavily involved as last season, he had been a mainstay. We spoke and he was excited by the club and the project.
“He is experienced and brings physicality. He was someone I was really keen to add to my squad.
“Harry has not had a lot of minutes this season so we have got to build him up sensibly.”
Wimbledon are at home to Barrow tomorrow (3pm).
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