THE news that Lee Trundle has stalled on signing a new contract is of considerable interest. The player's agent, Neil Sang, is reported as saying: "They offered him a two-year deal but he has had to turn it down.

"Wrexham have been really good and offered Lee the best possible deal they can at the moment. But it just was not enough. We will probably sit down after Christmas and see if they can do something else. But we have told them we are prepared to wait until next June.

"If Wrexham have a promotion push then perhaps they will be able to do a deal and Lee would be happy with that. If things do not come off, then we will just have to see what happens when his contract expires."

What are we to make of these comments? First, it is a very strange state of affairs when the agent tells the media about Trundle's decision in advance of notifying Denis Smith. As such, I think the Reds boss was quite within his rights to have a word with the player about the etiquette of contract negotiations - as in fact he did. Not for the first time, it would appear that agents are lowering the tone, and the standards, of the football industry.

Second, I'm not quite sure what is going through Trundle's mind. Clearly, he has every right to get the best deal possible for himself, but I do feel he should be displaying a bit more loyalty to the club that plucked him out of non-league football, especially in the current financial climate.

Third, it is a fact that at present the ex-Rhyl striker is doing very little on the field to justify his demands. Overall, and including substitute appearances, he has played 66 times for the Dragons in the last two years and scored 19 goals - hardly a stunning record.

Granted, when the 26-year-old first arrived at the Racecourse, he looked like an icon in the making. The quality of his play, and particularly his goals, was exceptional. However, over the past 12 months his form has dipped significantly and, give or take the odd glimpse of outrageous skill, he now does a decent impression of a fairly ordinary lower-divisions striker.

This season he has lost his place in the starting line-up and bagged only a solitary goal in 661 minutes of play. Moreover, he has gone to the top of the Wrexham 'bad boys' table with four yellow cards in eight weeks.

Not surprisingly perhaps, Trundle is now attracting his fair share of criticism on the terraces. Some fans say he is too selfish in front of goal; others argue that his penchant for elaborate ball tricks has turned him into a performing seal.

The bottom line is this: if he wants a more lucrative contract, or a transfer to a bigger club, he needs to start delivering when it really matters. Craig Faulconbridge alienated many supporters last year with his want-away attitude, and Trundle would do well not to follow suit.