NEWS:REPUBLIC OF Ireland defender Darren O'Dea has played his last game for Leeds United, according to manager Neil Warnock, who says with the Dubliner suspended for the game against Cardiff City, he will look to weigh up his other options over the closing weeks of the season before bringing in new blood over the summer months.

“I have decided we won’t be signing him for next season,” Warnock said with regard to O’Dea on the club’s official website. “I’ve had a chat with him, and I’m going to get let him have a break before he goes and plays in the European Championships in the summer.

“We thank him for what he’s done but I do feel it’s time to move on in that area. He’s had good games and average ones, but one or two people have come into my reckoning now that I’m looking for and hopefully we can tie those players up now over the next few months. It means Darren has played his last game for the club. He has accepted that and we now move on.”

The news will have come as a blow to O’Dea, who had made clear on several occasions he wanted to make the loan move to Elland Road a long-term one. He must now clarify his position with Celtic who have the option of extending his current deal, which runs out at the end of the season, by a year. He acknowledged a few weeks ago the SPL champions are likely to do that if only to ensure they get a fee for him in the event he moves on.

He seemed resigned, though, to the notion that he does not have a future with the club he joined as a teenager.

Paul Green, meanwhile, appears not to have a future at Derby after turning down their offer of a new contract. It is believed the proposed deal required the 29-year-old midfielder to take a sizeable pay-cut and the Ireland international has opted to move on instead.

“We made what we felt was a fair offer considering what stage he is at in his career and where we are,” said Derby boss Nigel Clough, “but it obviously wasn’t enough. We will move on now.”