ADAM Chicksen has played his last game for Bolton Wanderers.

The full-back, who had made 20 appearances for the club in all competitions this season, will not have his short-term contract renewed by the club.

Chicksen featured at Rochdale on Saturday but Keith Hill said the decision to release him was based upon laying down foundations for the future.

“He has been tremendous for us and I spoke with him at length yesterday, he has been a credit, but we are going to move in a different direction,” said the Wanderers boss.

“It is not a knee-jerk, it’s an integral part of our future to get the right players in. The right players for the right-here-right-now and the right players for the future.

“We have got to start building out. We can’t be short-sighted or narrow-minded.

“There is an emphasis on dealing with the present but if you keep doing that you are not building for the future. We have to build that.

“Adam has been superb and played under the stress of having a short-term contract and knowing, basically, that after performing for us on Saturday he wasn’t going to get a contract.

“I asked him on Friday whether he wanted to play, given the circumstances, and he was brave enough. I will do everything I can to help him to secure a livelihood for him and his family but also a footballing future for someone who has done a lot for us.”

Although Hill is working under the constrictions of an embargo he insists the decision to release Chicksen was not based on budget or squad size, but on attempting to develop the team.

“From a pure footballing decision I believe we need to do better,” he said. “We have got to start building out, start looking at longer term rather than short-term. We can’t keep with six-month contracts because at the end of the season virtually every player we have got is out of contract.

“We should be looking far more into the future than six, 12, 18-months.”