GOALKEEPER Ross Kitteridge is one of eight players being released as Basingstoke Town manager Frank Gray moves to trim his squad.

The 20-year-old shot stopper is the biggest name to be shown the exit door at the Camrose - but his departure is not a massive surprise.

Kitteridge endured a difficult 2009/10 season, scoring two own-goals in the space of a month during the autumn. He was less than convincing when coming for crosses throughout the campaign and spent a spell out of the side when Richard Barnard was brought in.

The youngster impressed towards the end of the season but Gray admitted that his position at the club was untenable.

"Ross is still very young and has a lot of potential but he made a few mistakes last season and every error he made after that just seemed to compound things for him," the manager said.

"He ended the season well but you always got the feeling that if he made one mistake, he would be crucified again. It's an unfortunate position goalkeepers sometimes find themselves in."

Other players not being offered new deals at the Camrose are Ashley Mitchell, Miles Mitchell-Coop, Craig Smith, Tom Walsh, Josh Webb, Ryan Stephens and Benedict Agwuegbu, while Barnard, Adam Aimable and Ian Jones remain out of the picture.

Gray has already secured the services of David Pratt, Matt Warner and Robert Rice, while he hopes to renew the contracts of Tom Williamson, Steve Laidler, Jahson Downes and Grant Powell.

In addition, Lewis Christon, Jide Ogunbote, Matt Finlay and Sean Hankin are all expected to return for pre-season on non-contract terms, while Gary Frewen should be back at the club in July.

Both of Town's major loan signings from last season could be on the market - but neither is likely to end up at the Camrose.

Defender Fraser Franks looks set to move to AFC Wimbledon if he is released by Brentford, while Gray has stated that he is not interested in pursuing Mitchell Bryant, who has left Reading.

However, the Town boss says he has been in talks with other players, including a couple of goalkeepers, and is hoping to be able to announce some new signings in the near future.

Gray said: "We are at quite a quite advanced stage in talks with a couple of our targets and are hoping to tie something up in the next week or so."