Dave Mackay admits freeing Paul Allan could ‘come back to bite’ Dunfermline.
Allan heads a list of six players who have been released by the Pars at the end of their contracts.
Mackay has revealed he and manager James McPake were keen to hang on to the midfielder but budget constraints sealed his departure.
The 24-year-old is joined by striker Alex Jakubiak, goalkeeper Max Little, defender Miller Fenton and youngsters Jake Rennie and Michael Beagley in departing.
Little and Fenton were bit-part players and Jakubiak failed to regularly reach the heights he is capable of during a frustrating season at East End Park.
However, Allan was a consistent performer for the Fifers and stood out when given a run in the starting line-up towards the end of the campaign.
As a boyhood Dunfermline supporter and homegrown talent, it will come as a surprise to many that the playmaker has been freed.
“A really tough one is Paul Allan,” said Mackay. “Paul has done great. This season he has come in [after last term’s injuries] and played an awful lot of football.
“The unfortunate thing for Paul was, when we spoke to him, we would have been desperate to keep Paul, we would have loved to have kept him.
‘It came down to budgets’
“He has great attitude, I think he has so much potential to improve as a player.
“But it came down to budgets.
“He has been really unfortunate that he is one of the few who was coming out of contract and the rest are still under contract. We just didn’t have any budget to keep him.
“Myself and the manager think really highly of Paul. He is going to have a lot of options.
“And he might be one to come back to bite the club – if Paul goes to a club at a higher level or he goes to a competitor in our division who finished above us this season.
“I know there are a few clubs interested in him.
“It is very unfortunate that he is not being kept on. Again, that’s not through choice of myself and the manager.
“At times, it is really really tough. But we have to work within a certain budget and unfortunately we couldn’t squeeze Paul into that.”
Jakubiak played under McPake and Mackay at Dundee and took time to explore his options following his departure from Dens Park 12 months ago.
After eventually agreeing a one-year deal with Dunfermline, he had to get his fitness up to speed.
Alex Jakubiak
He went on to score just two goals – both against Ayr United – in 28 appearances for the Pars.
The 27-year-old turned in a magnificent performance in March’s 3-1 victory over Dundee United.
But, frustratingly, and with injuries playing their part, he was unable to match those levels on a consistent basis.
“Alex Jakubiak is away and, again, is a little bit unfortunate,” said Mackay.
“We know how good Jak can be. That was why we were desperate to bring him here from Dundee, and why we were desperate to take him to Dundee as well.
“He can be unplayable, as we saw against Dundee United, but we didn’t see it quite enough.
“Jak will get a club, no problem. He is a top player and I hope that he goes and fulfils the potential that he has got, because he has all the attributes to be a top player.
“Unfortunately, budget constraints mean that you can’t retain everybody. You have to move players on and unfortunately Jak was a victim of that.”
Meanwhile, Dunfermline will offer Fenton training facilities this summer as he recovers from injury.
