Livingston manager David Martindale says Josh Mullin had a key role to play for the club - but he wasn't able to guarantee the winger enough game time to avoid him seeking a loan move away from the club.
The 28-year-old signed a season-long deal with Championship side Hamilton Accies on Friday and made his debut for the club in Saturday's loss against Morton.
Mullin made 24 starts for the Lions last term following his return to the club and opted to activate his two-year extension clause. However, Martindale says the former Ross County man simply felt a move away would allow him to feature more regularly.
The Lions acted quickly to bring in his replacement with Odin Bailey arriving on loan from Birmingham City.
Speaking to the Courier, Martindale said: "Josh asked to leave. Ideally, Josh would still be here but I do understand where he was coming from.
"He wants to play week in, week out and while he might have done that at Livingston, it wasn't guaranteed and Josh chose to go somewhere else where he thinks he's got a better chance of doing that.
"You have to credit Josh for making that move. He spoke to me honestly, and I spoke to him honestly. Obviously that move then allowed us to bring in Odin."
As for the new recruit, Martindale says they're getting a player with raw potential that can excite the fans.
He said: "Odin obviously still has a lot of development to do, that's why he's at Livingston, but I genuinely believe the top four or five teams in Scotland could play in the Championship down south - with Rangers and Celtic able to play in the Premier League.
"It's a learning curve for players coming up here who haven't played much Championship football but he was out on loan at Forest Green and did really well. I've watched a lot of his footage and the fact that Birmingham hadn't ear-marked him until very late on as a player they would send out on loan suggests he wasn't far off being around the first team and shows you what they think of him.
"He did pre-season with them and me and Marv went to speak to him when they were up in Troon for pre-season. Everyone was telling us to take a chance on him and I've watched a lot of his footage and he's what I'm looking for to be honest.
"I think we're getting a very exciting player, who I think we can see the best of in around six weeks. People don't understand the adaptation period needed but I'll try and get him as much game time. His fitness is very good, he did tests yesterday and came out in the top three at the club.
"I'm really excited to see what he has to offer at Livingston."
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