Kevin Wilkin was sad to see forward go

The 26-year-old finished as the Bucks’ top scorer last season, a campaign in which he caught the attention of clubs at step two of non-league. Gibson agreed terms with National League North side Hereford in June, ending an 18-month affiliation with the Shropshire side.

“It doesn’t surprise me that a club at the level above us wanted to take Montel and add him to their ranks,” the Bucks boss said. “Ideally we would have liked to have kept him, but equally we understand his desire to play at a higher level and try and progress himself.”

Wilkin added: “I’m sure there was a financial element to the decision as well as the opportunity to play at a higher level. We never ended up speaking to Montel about the financial side of things, and Hereford are a big club who can afford to pay their players more than we can.

“If there’s more money at a higher level, nine out of 10 people are going to take it and we understand and respect that.”

Despite finishing as the club’s top scorer with 16 goals the former Notts County forward struggled to maintain his high levels of quality throughout the season.

And Wilkin admitted that he hopes the former Bucks man can find his feet at the Bulls, reinforcing the fact that the pair went their separate ways amicably.

“You never really know with Montel to be honest with you. On his day he’s very difficult to play against, and there were glimpses of that throughout his time with us where he looked unplayable,” the Telford boss said. “Finding that bit of consistency with him wasn’t something I was able to do as much as I would have liked, and I don’t think Montel managed to as often as he would have liked either.

“He leaves with my thanks for his contribution during my time at the club.”