Simpson not happy with Alexander sale

Simpson, speaking to the media today ahead of their game at Coventry, said: "I had absolutely no idea that it was something that I was going to have to be contemplating. I knew that somewhere down the line that Graham Alexander wasn't going to be staying in the first team and that's why we chose to bring Billy Jones to the club. I have to say I didn't expect it to be coming this week, but I have to say I don't expect anything to surprise me now in football.

"I got a phone call from Steve Cotterill late afternoon on Tuesday to ask me whether I would be interested in selling him and I said no I wouldn't be interested in selling him. He said that they were going to be putting an offer in anyway. The offer went in and the Chairman said that the manager didn't want to sell him and that was that.

"I then got a phone call from his agent on Wednesday morning to say they knew about the bid from Burnley and that if we weren't prepared to offer him a new contract, an extension to his current contract, then he would like permission to speak to them because there was the chance that they could give him another twelve months security.

"My feelings are that at 35-years-old I wasn't prepared to offer another twelve month contract at this current time, I wanted to monitor it over the season. I gave him assurances that if he played a certain number of games then he would automatically be getting a twelve month contract, but he wanted something definite. It's happened now, we didn't want it to happen, and we have just got to accept it and to look forward.