Former Partick Thistle defender Gary Miller says that he left the club because he felt the contract offer made to him was not a fair reflection of his value.
The 28-year-old rejected a take it or leave it offer made to him by Thistle after the expiration of his one-year deal.
Despite feeling that his contribution to the Jags cause last season merited better terms, he says that he bears no grudges towards the club.
“It was a difficult decision,” said Miller. “I enjoyed the season and I played a lot of games, and we came within a whisker of qualifying for the top six.
“It was a hard situation, but it didn’t quite work out as I wanted and in the end I decided to leave.
“I spoke to the manager and we discussed a deal, then I spoke to the other people involved and I was offered a year with the option of another year. There were a number of things that weren’t what I expected though and you don’t want to go into something that you’re not really happy with.
“We never really spoke about the fact I might be a squad player, I think I’d proven myself by playing 25 games and only missing a few. I thought that I had shown quite well what I could do.
“I felt that if I had stayed I would probably have played the same amount of games at least, but after we had discussions I decided that it would be better if I left.
“I’ve been speaking to a few teams for a few weeks now, so I told Thistle about that and that I was hoping to hear what they had to say first.
“They made the offer, told me I had a deadline and it was take it or leave it. I just had to decide what was best for me.
“The offer, I thought, wasn’t great and that was it. I thought with the role I played and how valuable I had been that it might have been a bit better, but that’s nothing bad on the club. They’ve got to do what’s best for them and I’ve got to look out for what’s best for me.”
With the departure of Dan Seaborne and Freddie Frans already confirmed, the news of Miller turning down his deal had more than a few Thistle fans concerned about their defensive options for next season.
Miller says they shouldn’t worry though, as in Liam Lindsay they have one of the most promising youngsters in the country.
“I think we’ve all seen plenty times that Liam is very capable,” he said.
“He’s only 20-years-old, so he might need someone with a bit of experience in there to help him.
“At 20 though he’s played a lot of games in the Premiership. He’s obviously going to make mistakes, so it would be good to have someone in there that can take the pressure off him.
“I think he’ll play a lot of games next season and hopefully whoever is next to him, he’ll keep improving.”
As for Miller’s future, a change of scenery might be on the cards, as he admitted that a move out of the country could appeal to him.
He said: “It’s a time in my career where I’ve played in Scotland for so long that I would maybe looking to go abroad or England. I’ll just have to see what my options are.
“If I was going to be staying in Scotland then I would have enjoyed staying at Thistle, but it never worked out that way. Hopefully when one door closes another opens.”
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