MARK Yates has revealed that departed goal hero Iyseden Christie is not the idol that some Harriers fans might think - after defending his decision to sell the top scorer.

Yates has come under fire for cashing in on Christie at the end of January, especially as his Harriers side have struggled to find the net since then.

But the manager insists the sale of the former Mansfield powerhouse made perfect business sense and said Rochdale's offer was too good to turn down.

"On the subject of Iyseden saying he'd happily sign a contract extension, I'd say, don't believe everything you read," said Yates.

"There's a few things between myself and Iyseden that are going to remain private.

"Some of you might think Iyseden was the saviour and Iyseden was this and that and some of you might think he wasn't and I did a decent thing by selling him.

"He wouldn't have been here next season, let's not kid ourselves of that.

"But with the transfer fee we got for him and the money that we saved on his wages I think I did a good deal.

"Those of you who have got him as your big idol, if I told you some of the things that went on in the dressing room or my office regarding him, your opinions would change."

Chairman Barry Norgrove also insisted the decision to sell Christie and fellow high earners Mark Jackson and Wayne Hatswell was the right one.

"When we were in the position where we were reasonably safe what was the point of keeping these people for the last few games?" he said.

"There was money on the table and in three or four weeks time we would have lost them all anyway.

"It was best to take the money because we couldn't get any further and then sit back and use it for next season."