HAVING released six players from the club earlier this week Burnley boss Stan Ternent admitted: "It is the most difficult thing a manager has to do.

"The players have done really well for you but I have to make the decisions, that's what I am paid to do."

And amid the confusion over television money he added: "Sometimes it is not down to ability but rather the financial implication of things."

Three of the players released, Kevin Ball, Mitchell Thomas and Tony Ellis are all 37 but Ternent insisted that age was not the first of his considerations when he let them go.

"People might say that they are old and this, that and the other but I don't have any hang-ups about that," he said.

"I know that people want to see young kids coming through but that is not always possible. You have got someone like Kevin Ball who was almost an ever present and he never stopped running all season.

"Mitchell Thomas came back late in the season and he did well while I think that Tony Ellis is going to play out in Australia for a team in Melbourne."

The other three players to be freed this week were Lennie Johnrose, John Williamson and Luigi Cennamo.

"Lennie has struggled with injuries throughout the season and it is a good time for him to have a change," he said. "John Williamson has also had injuries and so he has never made a the breakthrough.

"As for Luigi, he was always a reserve keeper."

With clubs cutting back on their wage bills in the current crisis there will be hundreds of footballers looking for work in the summer but that is the harsh reality of the game today.

Ternent stressed he wanted to thank all six players for their efforts but his task is to make Burnley even stronger next season and that is why he made the difficult decisions this week.