GEORGE Rooney says Steve Pope made a mistake leaving Bromsgrove Rovers for Redditch United after the defender made a shock return to the club.

Pope turned out for the last half hour of Rovers' 5-1 pre-season friendly against Walsall at the Victoria Ground last Saturday, prompting questions into his move to the Valley last month.

Rooney said: "Steve felt that he had made a mistake in leaving the club. Obviously we could not compete financially and he was made offers to move.

"He was offered a new challenge then all of a sudden he regretted leaving Rovers. When he had time to reflect on it he wanted to recapture what he had achieved in the previous two years."

But Rooney was quick to praise Redditch boss Rod Brown's part in the swift deal that saw Rovers' seven-day approach accepted.

"The fact that he was able to play is very much down to Rod Brown," Rooney added. "Rod Brown was very professional about it and he allowed Steve to return to us.

"Rod Brown behaved impeccably and I am very grateful for that. He manufactured a way to get the paperwork through quickly. Rod knew he (Pope) was sincere and the speed it was done was very much down to Rod Brown."

Rovers host Carlton Palmer's Stockport County in another pre-season fixture this Saturday (3pm). The Greens are looking to build on the Waslall success, but the manager is not reading too much into the scoreline.

Rooney said: "The result is nice for the spectators but it's not a major concern to me. I am too long in the tooth to get carried away with pre-season results."