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| Jamie Willets At Edgar Street In August 2016 |
Hereford manager Peter Beadle has paid tribute to Jamie Willets for all his hard work whilst with the Bulls. After arriving from Stourport, Willets went straight into the team which then went on a run of 33 games without defeat.
"It wasn't an easy decision for him," said Beadle told BBC Hereford and Worcester.
"The demands we put on the players now and he had a lot of other stuff going on as well and he felt his football was suffering.
"He felt that maybe it was the right time for him to move on.
"We spoke a couple of weeks ago after Salisbury. The two games he had played in the Cups we hadn't played particularily well and conceeded a lot of goals and he just felt that maybe it was time for him to move on and maybe he couldn't keep up with the way we were evolving which was a shame but he stayed around for a little while longer and hung on in there for a bit longer but eventually after chatting this morning he made his mind up that he needed a change of scenery.
"I think there were one or two other things as well.
"Jamie is a gentle giant off the field, he's a lovely lad he really is and he played a massive part in our season last season but because he's such a nice lad I think he was a bit naive.
"He received some upsetting and distressing messages on Facebook from three so called supporters which were quite vile and unnecessary and certainly something I hope, I truly hope, weren't written by what you call true fans of the football club.
"What was in those messages was personel, crude and vile and obviously upsetting for Jamie at a time when he was having a tough time. Something he could have done without.
"That wasn't the b all and end all of his decision. I think he probably realised that he had probably gone as far as he could with us and it was time to move on. But that certainly didn't help his cause.
"I think if anyone knows Jamie, he's probably as honest as ever you are going to find a player. He's honest, committed, hard working. He loved playing for Hereford and don't forget things turned a corner when Jamie came to the club.
"Obviously he was big change for us and made a huge difference to our season last season. He played a massive part in our campaign of winning the League and a couple of competitions.
"I'm sure the people who wrote on, they were direct messages on Facebook. Obviously Facebook can be a very helpful app if you like but it can be one you need to steer clear of.
"There's no condoning it. I hope the people who wrote those messages, you'd like to think it was in a moment of madness maybe under the influence of a few beers, hopefully they regret it because Jamie certainly didn't deserve that.
"He was a massive part of what we achieved last year, unfortunately the club outgrew Jamie a little bit and is moving on too fast for Jamie to keep up.
"He came to me, he totally understood that and made his feelings felt. He did me a favour and hung around for a little while longer but after chatting to him this morning it was decided he probably needed a break now to recharge his batteries and find a new challenge."