United Youth coach Eric Kinder spoke to us this morning about the decisions that have been made regarding second-year youth contracts over the last few days:

"I think that the job of Youth team coach is a good one at any club, and I'd go as far as saying that it is a great position to hold for 99.9% of the working year. Unfortunately, yesterday afternoon just didn't feel that way for me.

I've done the job for a good few years now, but telling a lad that he hasn't got a contract doesn't get any easier.

We came in back in July, we set our targets and decided what it was that we wanted to do and, in my opinion, we've not only achieved that, but we've surpassed it. I honestly believe that the only thing that has prevented us from winning the title this season has been a few injuries and suspensions. I'm convinced that this group of players is the best group in the North West Alliance League, even though we can't prove that by finishing top. The League table won't lie but, had we kept everyone fit and on the pitch, we'd have done even better.

So, it has been a heck of a long time since July, and it then all boils down to one afternoon in April when you have to make a final decision on your second-year players.

As far as Dan Wordsworth goes, I'm delighted for him, I really am. He has had an excellent season, he's worked hard, and this is his reward. He has a one-year contract now, and it's up to him to take it on to that next elevel, which I'm sure he will.

To be fair to Browny and Woody, I think they knew that it would end up this way. They both admitted to me that they were just a little bit short in the end, as far as stepping up to the next level is concerned, so I think they have been preparing themselves for it.

Browny is a very bright lad, and he has had offers from four Universities already. He's been working away behind the scenes to make sure that his future is right, and he will be a success in life, I have no doubt about that at all.

I think he will also play football at a very good level, even though he will be determined to succeed at University, now that his focus has headed that way. There's plenty of life left in Matt Brown, that's a certainty.

With Woody, I can say with hand on heart that he has given us everything. Week in, week out, he has run himself in to the ground. He is enthusiastic, determined and committed, and he is one heck of a lively character to have around the place. He's been the joker of the camp, keeping everyone lifted and on the up, and we are all sad to see him go.

He knows that he was a little bit behind where he needed to be to step up, but I also know that he is another who will succeed with whatever he chooses to do next.

He's been talking about going to America on a scholarship, and he'll be more than fine if he does that. He has the character and the personality to make a real go of that kind of thing, and it would be good to see him do it.

I'll always remember him for the goal he scored against Southend. It was a superb moment for him and for us, and one that we will be able to talk about for a good while to come.

Our really big decision, of course, was Steve Hindmarch.

The unfortunate thing about professional sport is that it is littered with talented people, who fail for one reason or another, and I'm afraid that Steve has fallen in to that category at the moment.

He really has got all the talent in the world but, in my opinion, and that of the manager, his enthusiasm and desire isn't always there.

You have to have that if you want to succeed. He finds the day to day business of training and being a professional sportsman a little bit too much to take, and he doesn't give it his best shot.

Hopefully, once this sinks in, he will come back in to the game and prove us wrong, because he has the ability to do that. One day we hope that he will realise what he has got, because he has been told enough times over the last 18-months that he does have it in him, then he may begin to mature and feel ready to go again.

It's definitely not too late for him to have another go and I actually hope that he will pick up and carry on immediately. I've already alerted Workington to his availability, and maybe Darren would be able to help him along in a different environment down there. It may be that he has to come back through a route like that but, as I keep saying, if he decides that he wants to then I have no doubt that he will achieve it.

His attitude will have to change, and he'll have to start taking it really seriously, but it's there for him if he wants it.

The way he comes across is that he doesn't have that much desire and enthusiasm for the game. On a Saturday morning, when he is playing, he's fine. When it's Man United or Aston Villa, or any other big game, he's fine. However, he switches it all off when it comes to the other stuff, and to some of the less attractive fixtures, and you can't afford to do that in this business, or you get found out.

That's the side of it all that has let him down. Going the extra yard to be that little bit stronger and fitter, and doing the extra work to iron out the rough patches, those are the things that he doesn't really want to do at the moment. I really, really hope that he takes an opportunity somewhere else and comes back to prove that we have been wrong.

I think the world of him as a person, so I'll be helping him all I can to get a club. If at all possible that will be a league club, but it will be non-league if needs be, and if he wants it.

Overall, despite the great news for Dan, it becomes a horrible day and a horrible week. I don't think it will ever get any easier, either, because you get to know these lads as well as they know themselves, and you feel for them.

We'll be helping those we've released all we can though, as they are a cracking set of lads, and we want them all to move on and succeed."

+++++++

John Ward added: "We have offered Dan Wordsworth a one-year deal and he seems to be delighted about that. We're pleased with his reaction, and it gives him another year in his continued progression. I think he has done very well, and he has earned this chance. We only had four second-year lads to talk to, and he is the only one to make it through with us, so we're looking forward to seeing him take it even further. It's always nice when you can offer something to a young player but, as I'm sure you are aware, the flip side of it all is quite difficult."

"Obviously it means that the other three lads didn't get an offer," he added, "and it's never nice to have to break that kind of news. Eric has been around that kind of thing for much longer than me, but I think it's fair to say that he still finds it a very difficult thing to do. You do get close to these players, and you want them to succeed, and that's particularly the case at Youth team level where it is all about developing them as people as well as football players. It's probably the least enjoyable part of the job for all of us. Unfortunately, it's the way the game goes and it is something that you have to do. The lads themselves are aware that it could become the case that they don't receive an offer, but that doesn't make it any easier for anyone."

"It goes without saying that we all wish the three lads every success with whatever they go on to do," he concluded. "They are genuinely three excellent young men, and I'm sure they all have bright futures ahead of them. If they do want to continue in football then we will be helping them, in any way we can, to make sure that they get something fixed up."