Livingston boss Gary Holt says Anthony Stokes ‘deserves respect’ for taking the decision to leave the club.
The 32-year-old’s contract was terminated on Tuesday morning by mutual consent, less than four weeks after penning a one-year deal with the Lions and without making an appearance.
The former Celtic and Hibs striker’s inability to adapt to the 3G playing surface at the Tony Macaroni Arena was highlighted as the main factor in a club statement.
Holt says he enjoyed working with the striker – and insists there was no bad blood between either party.
Speaking to the West Lothian Courier, the gaffer commented: “I want to thank Anthony for coming in and giving it a go. People will say he knew it was a plastic surface before he came in but that’s a load of nonsense.
“Unless you’ve played on it and trained on it regularly you never really know how it’s going to be for you.
“I think you’ve got to really say that Anthony deserves respect for making the decision that it’s not working and not wanting to take money out of a club.
“People will say their own things but sometimes it’s just nice to be nice to each other and come to an agreement.”
He added: “I wish him all the best and I had a great time working with him for those three weeks but we just couldn’t get it to work and that’s what it is.”
The gaffer also revealed that Stokes' departure will have no impact on youngster Jack Hamilton's loan move to East Fife.
The 20-year-old striker will remain with the League One club in a bid to get more games under his belt.
Holt said: "We want Jack to play games week in, week out. Jack knows that and where we are with him and he's more than happy with it.
"It's work in progress with him but it's a great chance to get games under his belt and that will be a big positive for him and ourselves."
