Huddersfield Town boss on Lionel Ainsworth as he moves to Shrewsbury Town

Aug 3 2010 by Mel Booth, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

LIONEL AINSWORTH left Town for Shrewsbury having failed to live up to his original billing at the Galpharm.

That was the verdict of manager Lee Clark, who made the 22-year-old his first capture when joining the club but released him yesterday for an undisclosed fee.

Clark said: “Lionel didn’t hit the heights we expected from him here.

“He became frustrated when he couldn’t get Gary Roberts or Anthony Pilkington out of the side and he had off-the-field problems, which could have affected him.

“We did have higher hopes for him but it wasn’t to be and the best thing for all parties is for him to move on and start afresh.

“He will be playing for a manager that he knows well in Graham Turner and he got the best out of him when he played for Hereford, so hopefully it will kick-start Lionel’s career again.

“We’ll move on now and we wish him all the best in his career.”

Ainsworth was Clark’s first signing as manager of Town when he joined the club from Championship side Watford in the January 2009 transfer window, on the same day that Anthony Pilkington made his move from Stockport County.

Signing a contract until the summer of 2011, he made his debut as a substitute days later during the League I game at Yeovil Town and went on to make a further 14 appearances before the end of that season.

A further 17 appearances – predominantly as a substitute – followed during the first half of the 2009-10 campaign and a loan move to Brentford followed in January this year.