Former Barnet skipper Charlie MacDonald says his departure left a sour taste in the mouth as he believes the Bees withdrew their contract offer after he refused the club’s choice of surgeon.

The 34-year-old, who signed for Boreham Wood last week, told the Times Series he had been offered a one-year deal to remain at The Hive as player-coach for the 2015/16 season.

However, the striker revealed the offer had been withdrawn by the club when he refused to use the club’s surgeon for a meniscus operation, despite arranging the operation through Bupa, at no cost to Barnet.

He was also forced to arrange his own rehabilitation at the Isokinetic clinic in Harley Street as the club’s physiotherapist, Jayde Cook, had left after her contract expired – that despite undergoing surgery more than a month before his own deal ended.

MacDonald was included on the list of players whose futures would be discussed once head coach Martin Allen committed to the Bees after winning the Conference title.

But what followed left MacDonald lose respect for the man who had brought him to The Hive and made him club captain less than 12 months earlier.

Allen originally suggested MacDonald would be offered a player-coach deal during the Bees’ end-of-season trip to Benidorm but talks were put on hold until Allen’s own future was resolved.

MacDonald said: “When we got back to the UK there was a lot of indecision whether the gaffer was staying at the club. There were a few rumours and he had not committed himself to Barnet so none of the lads knew where we stood.

“On a Wednesday I had a text from the gaffer asking to give him a call ASAP. I called him and he said: ‘I have sorted out my deal, I am staying at the club and the chairman and I have agreed you stay as player-coach for a year. Come in next Wednesday and we can talk about pre-season.’”

But before going to The Hive to put pen-to-paper on a new deal, MacDonald had a consultation in Harley Street about his operation. It was that operation which he believes cost him his Barnet career.

He continued: “I had a phone call from the manager before I went in to see the consultant. I said: ‘Funny you should ring, gaffer, I am just about to see a consultant who is going to refer me to a surgeon.’

“He said: ‘Well the chairman might get the hump [if you don’t use the club surgeon] and he might pull the offer.’ I said I could not go under the knife with someone I did not trust.”

The next MacDonald heard about his contract was two days later when Allen told him the offer had been withdrawn.

Times Series:

“It left a very sour taste in my mouth because I had a hell of a lot of respect for the gaffer and we had a good relationship up until that point,” admitted MacDonald.

“I have never been disrespected like that in my whole career. It left a massive downer on such a good season. I wanted to stay at the club, I was happy at the club and the boys were fairly shocked I was not going as well.

“I have not had any contact with the manager since,” MacDonald continued. “He has tried to contact me a couple of times since but I have ignored any messages and phone calls because I have not really got anything to say so I would rather not say anything at all.”

And to rub salt into his wounds, MacDonald was left to arrange his own rehabilitation, despite being contracted to the Bees until the end of last month.

Times Series:

“I do not feel like I have been looked after post-surgery,” he stated. “(Physiotherapist) Jayde Cook’s contract ran out after the last game of the season. She got all the authorisation for my surgery but once I had it I had to find my own rehab, there was no help from the club and I was still under contract until June 30.

“I had my operation on May 19, so for six weeks I had to use all the contacts I have gathered during my career to get physiotherapy.”

He added: “Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but had I known I was going to be treated like this I would have had the surgery in February and put myself ahead of the team, but that is not the sort of professional I am.”

The Times Series contacted Barnet about the story and were issued with the following response:

“Despite initial discussions about offering Charlie something in a player-coach capacity the reality was that he did not have the necessary coaching qualifications to take up such a role.

"Furthermore, we as a club decided that our preferred option was to promote Ross Eames following his excellent achievements with the youth team last season.”

There will be more from Charlie MacDonald next week as the striker discusses happier times at The Hive.