Andy Marriott may have had plenty of team-mates throughout his 22-year playing career but the 39-year-old admits that saying his goodbyes to fellow pros every summer is one of the few negatives of being a professional footballer.

Thirteen players either left St James' Park or returned to their parent clubs in May after Paul Tisdale announced his retained list and in an exclusive chat with Grecian Player this week Marriott reflected on the unfortunate situation of having to say farewell to his team-mates.

"It is difficult," the Welsh international said. "It is one of the harshest things about football to be honest.

"People that you are so close to move on so quickly.

"So it is almost a phone call, a chat to somebody or a text to say 'good luck' and 'sorry you're not here next season."

The dust had only just settled on City's survival celebrations and Tisdale was already beginning the unenviable task of deciding which players to release and which to offer new deals to.

And despite being general manager at the club, Marriott admitted he was very much in the dark about players' futures like everyone else.

"No one is really certain who is staying or who is going only Paul, Steve and the coaches," he admitted.

"We always have a debrief with Paul and then he begins the process of speaking to the players from then.

"But it is a continuous development and people come in and develop and some do unfortunately move on."

Alex Russell was one of the 13 players to depart the club

Many of the players departing the club were midfielders, with Joe Burnell, Manny Panther Neil Saunders and Alex Russell not being offered new deals but Marriott admits that the return to fitness of David Noble will help fill that void in the middle of the park.

"Paul has been fantastic, he is a real believer of putting faith in people," Marriott explained. "And he has put a lot of faith in David Noble and I am sure Nobes will repay him.

"He should be a massive asset. We have got someone who has played in the Championship and hopefully he will be fit for the start of the season and driving us on.

"Steve Basham hadn't played much when Paul took him here and he is a big believer in his medical staff and he believes they can get people back to full fitness."

David Noble should be 'a massive asset'

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