'Let down' - Shrewsbury coach's admission ahead of Charlie Daniels' Portsmouth arrival

Shrewsbury felt ‘let down’ by the timing of Charlie Daniels’ exit ahead of his switch to Pompey.
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Daniels, 34, spent the first half of the season at the Shrews.

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He put pen to paper on a short-term deal in October after recovering from a serious knee injury, scoring two goals in 17 games.

Kenny Jackett quickly identified Daniels as a replacement for Cam Pring following his return to Bristol City at the start of the month.

The ex-Bournemouth favourite's departure from Shrewsbury was announced on Tuesday – only half-an-hour before their FA Cup third-round tie at Southampton.

Assistant-boss Aaron Wilbraham revealed Daniels told Shrewsbury he didn't want to be involved a day before the St Mary's clash.

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The full-back admitted he had to be 'selfish’ in terms of his career.

Charlie Daniels. Picture: Marc Atkins/Getty ImagesCharlie Daniels. Picture: Marc Atkins/Getty Images
Charlie Daniels. Picture: Marc Atkins/Getty Images

The former Rochdale striker told the Shropshire Star: ‘With Charlie Daniels, the fixture wasn’t in place and Charlie had been speaking to other clubs,” Wilbraham said.

‘It got to a point where he turned up the day before the game and kind of said he didn’t want to play, which was a little bit disappointing.

‘I spoke to Charlie and was fine with it, but I did tell him that we felt a little bit let down that he could have told us earlier.

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‘We’d gone through the set-pieces and stuff. He said he had to be selfish for the first time in his career in that way.

‘He a little bit left us in limbo – and I don’t mean because Scotty Golbourne isn’t an ideal replacement – I just mean Scotty had one game of football after 11 weeks out with a rib injury.

‘It wasn’t ideal for Scotty more than anything, but I thought he came in and did well. It was really tough after being out that long.

‘It wasn’t the case with Pughy (Marc Pugh, who also left), that was totally different.

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‘I wouldn’t say anything about Charlie I wouldn’t say to his face – I understand he’s a bit older, had bad injuries, I just wish it could’ve been a bit earlier on that decision.’

Daniels will challenge Lee Brown for a left-back spot at Pompey.

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