Forest Green Rovers boss Robbie Savage has explained the thinking behind Harvey Bunker’s departure to Carlisle United – insisting the decision was based on footballing profiles rather than anything personal.
Bunker has made an impressive start to life at Carlisle after leaving Forest Green in the summer, and Savage was quick to praise the midfielder ahead of Rovers’ trip to Brunton Park.
Savage said he knew Bunker before taking over at Forest Green and had been impressed by his attitude and professionalism, but admitted he could not guarantee him the regular first-team football he wanted after spending seven years at the New Lawn, following his release from Southampton. Bunker had been at Forest Green for seven years after his move from Southampton in 2019.
He made 28 appearances under Savage last season, scoring three goals – including a strike in Forest Green’s 4-2 defeat at Carlisle last October.
Savage said: “When I came in, I knew Bunks (Harvey Bunker) because he played with my Charlie (Savage), and Charlie said, ‘What a great lad.’
“Bunks wanted, like every player, to probably have more opportunities, and I couldn’t guarantee him that. So we decided that it was best he looked for opportunities elsewhere, and he’s been brilliant.
“He’s a great lad and was really helpful at times for me. He was a great trainer, did everything right, a great professional, and he’s been great for Carlisle. They’ve got a very, very good player. It just wasn’t meant to be for us.
“I couldn’t guarantee him playing every single minute of every game, and as players, that’s what you want to do.
“So, listen, we shook hands, wished him well and he’s done well. Hopefully he continues to do well, but not against us tomorrow.”
Savage also revealed that Bunker did not fit the profile of player he was looking for in midfield or at centre-half as he reshaped the Forest Green squad.
“I was looking for a different profile as a midfield player or a centre-half. That was just my prerogative – Bunks is a good player, a very good player, but my profile of player in those positions is different. It was different.
“So again, it’s never personal. It’s just what a manager sees. At the end of the day, a manager has the recruitment team and the alignment we have between myself, Mark (Bowen), Asif (Rehmanwala) and (Dale Vince).
“We’ll have big decisions to make, not just with players. Of course you do.
“And the easiest thing to do is to keep people and offer people contracts because they’re great lads, which Bunks is, and he’s a good player, but the profile for me just wasn’t what I wanted in those positions.
“If I’d have played a different way, Bunks would have fitted the profile. But he’s a good player and he’s a great lad.”
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