CHRIS O’Grady has opened up on his Oldham Athletic exit.

The experienced striker was facing an uncertain future after being frozen out over the summer – told by Latics he was too old and too expensive to be part of their plans.

But when old pals Keith Hill and David Flitcroft offered him a surprise shot at Bolton he saw a chance to achieve something special as Wanderers look to beat the drop in League One after a points deduction.

Now O’Grady has accused Latics of a lack of respect after being cast aside ahead of the new campaign.

“They (Hill and Flitcroft) have always got the best out of me, whether I was a kid or someone at the stage of my career I am now,” said the 33-year-old, who had worked alongside the Wanderers management team at Rochdale and Barnsley.

“When I got the phone call I wasn’t in a good place at Oldham but I was always going to jump at it. The chance to play for a club like Bolton under two people who know me so well wasn’t something I thought would necessarily come.

“What happened at Oldham was just circumstances. The way the club has been run they were getting rid of players of a certain age or a certain wage. I played nearly 50 games for them last season, so I’d like to think I was still worth something.

“Peter Clarke was their player of the year and they did the same to him, albeit he was out of contract. I didn’t feel we were being treated with respect. But I made a point to act professionally because then good things happen.”

The 33-year-old scored eight times in 47 league appearances after returning to Boundary Park last season.

The frontman’s second Oldham spell began 10 years on from his first, having been with Latics between 2008 and 2010, making 13 appearances for the club.