Brentford winger Glenn Poole says he may well have left the club even if he had been offered a new contract after manager Andy Scott began the task of building for life in League One this week.

The Bees boss brought the axe down on the Griffin Park career’s of nine of his League Two title winning squad on Wednesday, with former skipper Adam Newton, Brett Johnson, Gary Smith, Craig Pead, Darren Powell, Craig Dobson, John Halls, Seb Brown and Poole all heading for the exit door.

The 27-year-old midfielder made only fleeting appearances in the Brentford squad in the second half of the campaign having been displaced by the impressive form of Sam Wood and Ryan Dickson.

Poole, who has been linked with a move to former manager Mark Stimson’s Gillingham in the past, starts the summer in the strange position of having a League Two winners medal and no club.

But the former Grays Athletic star, who has recently split from his agent, insists he is confident of landing a new deal elsewhere and has not ruled out seeing the Bees fans again in League One next season.

“A lot of people know what I can do and plenty at other clubs have said they can’t put their finger on why I’ve not been involved more, so I’m confident something will be sorted,” he said.

“If I’d been offered a new contract and told I wasn’t going to be first choice I probably wouldn’t have signed anyway. I need to be playing week in, week out at this stage of my career.

“I’m ambitious. I’ve proved myself in League Two and I want a chance to have a go at League One. I’m not the sort of player to rest on my laurels. I want to improve myself.

“I probably enjoyed my best season under Mark at Grays. He knows what I can do and I like the way he wants to play football.

“I know a few of the boys at Gillingham and it would be easy for me to settle in there. They could still get promotion, so who knows.”

Poole briefly headed the scoring charts in the early part of the campaign and still has the highest number of goal assists this season, despite making only 18 league starts and ten substitute appearances.

But the former goal of the season award winner insists he has loved every minute of his spell in west London even though it has been cut short.

“It has been a squad achievement. Of course you want to play. If you are happy sitting on the sidelines then you are in the wrong business,” he added.

“I’m still pleased with my achievements this year. I’ve scored a few goals and have a winners medal. My stats still add up. My record is still scoring a goal every three games.

“It is not all about me. The football club is bigger than I or any of the players will ever be. It has been a squad achievement and I’m just glad to have been a part of it.

“The fans have been brilliant. I was the last back into the changing room on Saturday, because so many were telling me not to leave. Their reaction at the weekend will live with me forever.”