Peter Clarke explains Walsall exit and heaps praise on former boss Michael Flynn

The 41-year-old, who left the club earlier this summer, was surprisingly sent out on loan by Flynn to National League side Oldham Athletic last season.

It came on the back of 11 starts in the first 14 league games - with some fans questioning why Clarke had been allowed to leave on loan.

In a statement on the Saddlers' website, he explained how after discovering Clarke's wife was suffering with ill health, Flynn encouraged Clarke to take up the option of a loan move to the Latics, to be closer to his family.

After initially being unsure of the move, Clarke explained that he soon realised Flynn was thinking about the defender and his family situation

He explained: "The manager pulled me after training and said that he had had a call from Oldham saying that they wanted to take me on loan.

“At the time I was like, ‘right, okay. It is not something that is necessarily top of my priorities.’ We were doing okay, I was playing, I was contributing.

“He turned round and said from a personal point of view, I think you should go which I have to admit, I was a little bit taken aback by it.

“He felt that me being closer to home, at home every night being there for my wife and for the kids was more important than his needs as a manager and the needs of the football club.

“From a personal point of view and from a personal aspect, the benefits that were there for us as a family, it was definitely the right decision.

“I think there were probably questions asked when I departed as to why. I think people probably wondered had there been a falling out and things like that and it couldn’t be further from the truth.

“The manager was fantastic and I will be eternally grateful to him for his emotional understanding and his care of a player, a professional and another human being. He was brilliant but so were the rest of the staff at the football club. Those right at the top of the organisation as well, Ben Boycott and Leigh Pomlett, they were fantastic as well.

“I owe an eternal debt of gratitude to a lot of people at the football club and I can’t thank them enough for their care and understanding during what was a really difficult time for me and my family."

Clarke left the Poundland Bescot Stadium in the summer and has since joined Warrington Town.

The defender explained how his wife's health has now improved and he wanted to explain the reason why he left the club so suddenly.

He added: “I wanted to explain all this as to why I left, not necessarily to set the record straight but to just really thank those that helped me and my family at the time.

“The manager and I were not too dissimilar in age and with a wife and a young family of his own, he was aware of the needs to be with the family through some lived experiences and he knew that with having a wife and children, the love and care that they need.

“For him to put everything else as a secondary issue to mine and my family’s needs, I will be forever grateful to him for that."