JAKE Hastie may have turned down the chance to become the best-paid player at Motherwell to join Rangers, but Fir Park manager Stephen Robinson says he holds no grudges over the winger’s decision to take an even better offer from Ibrox.

The 20-year-old signed a pre-contract agreement with Steven Gerrard’s men during the week, and while there is some annoyance within Fir Park at how the whole negotiation process was handled, Robinson says there is no ill-will towards Hastie himself.

And while he remains undecided about whether or not to play Hastie in front of what may be a now hostile home crowd today against St Mirren, he has posed the question to fans if they would have done anything differently in their own careers had they been offered a life-changing raise.

“He’s gone with our best wishes,” Robinson said. “There’s no hard feelings from me in any way, shape or form. There’s no bitterness to it.

“He’s a young boy who has made a decision. He burst onto the scene and he’s only played 14 games for us, and he’s done great for us. So, he goes with my best wishes and I hope everything works out very well.

“Everyone has to make decisions in life. He’s a young man, I’ve a very good relationship with him and I’ve spoken to him to give him my opinion on it.

“You can only give your advice as you would probably do to your own kids, and then people have to make decisions.

“Whether that is the right or wrong decision, it is very difficult for anyone in any walk of life or sitting in the stand to turn down four or five times their wages and move 15 minutes up the road. Or maybe not even have to move.

“So, we can all say what we think, but it is a very difficult decision, and footballers have a short career, so I understand it.

“I don’t take it personally as an insult to me or the football club. Jake had a decision to make, it’s difficult when you get presented with an opportunity that can change your life in terms of money.

“There’s not many of us who would sit here and say honestly they wouldn’t have taken it.

“We would have loved him to stay, he didn’t, he’s made that choice, and we wish him all the best.”

Despite some criticism from supporters over Hastie’s contract being allowed to run down, Robinson says that there wasn’t anything else the club could have done to keep him.

And while there has yet to be any contact with Rangers about a possible compensation fee, Motherwell will still be well protected should the matter reach a tribunal.

“We can’t give players longer-term contracts,” he said. “The model that we have, we don’t have enough money to commit four and five years to players.

“We offered Jake the best contract at the football club. It certainly wasn’t life-changing, but it was as good as we could possibly do.

“The compensation fee we get will be the equivalent of a very large transfer fee in our current financial circumstances.

“We’ve got a lot of young boys and more coming through, so that is what my focus is on. It isn’t on Jake or what happens at Rangers.

“My focus is on the boys we have here, and whether we can continue to develop them and progress as a football club.”