BARRY ASHBY’S departure from Gillingham has been confirmed by manager Neale Cooper.

Cooper was hoping to have been able to assess Ashby during pre-season but saw the central defender – who was out of contract - leave after just one training session.

Cooper said: "Barry was in the same situation as Paul Smith and again I hoped he’d train with us.

"But whether he’s got other options I don’t know. He came in one day and the next day he left with Paul.

"He had a figure that he wanted but it was too high for the chairman.

"He’s looking for a two-year contract and they’ve got a right to go looking at other clubs."

Ashby arrived at Priestfield from Brentford in September 1997 for a tribunal fee of £140,000 and went onto make more than 300 appearances.

With all out-of-contract deals now concluded, Cooper added: "It’s the kind of stuff you could do without but it’s a hard time for players and they need to do the best they can for themselves. It’s all part of the game."

Of the 12 out of contract players at the club this summer, only Ian Cox and Mark Saunders remain at Priestfield.