Basingstoke Town have announced that Andrew and Matt Ottley have left the Nationwide South side due to financial limitations in their wage budget.

Midfielder Andrew signed for the club in pre-season following his free transfer from Premiership side Fulham, and started the season as first-choice right midfielder.

Matt joined the Dragons at the end of last season, having previously played under manager Francis Vines at Crawley Town. He totalled just six appearances for the club.

Vines explained the double departure: "This decision was based purely on financial reasons and is no reflection of the ability of either of the players.

"I have put together a squad of twenty players, but this along with the addition of two loan players has stretched my budget.

"I have known Matt for a long time, and he is the kind of player who would give his last drop of blood for the cause, and I sincerely wish both him and Andy all the very best for the future."

Vines also added that he may look to strengthen his squad: "I thought David Stroud and Ben Wells did extremely well in difficult circumstances on Saturday.

"The squad contains enough experience to accommodate new players fairly seamlessly, and I will not rule out making further changes if I feel it is necessary.

"We are very much in the position of one in, one out, and I hope that the squad react positively to this situation, and see this very much as a motivating factor for them to be named in the starting line-up."