Jamie Devitt says he was only offered a one-year deal by Carlisle United - and that was the major reason he decided to leave the club.

The midfielder has spoken for the first time about the circumstances behind his decision to reject new terms with the Blues.

Devitt this week announced he would be departing Brunton Park after three years.

The situation has been the subject of strong speculation among supporters with the length of the offer made to Devitt coming under scrutiny.

The 28-year-old has now confirmed it was indeed the length of the deal - not the wages on offer - that deterred him from signing.

Speaking to United's own website today, Devitt said: "I don’t mean this in a harsh way, or anything like that, but it’s a decision I needed to make with the offer that was on the table.

"I have a little boy who is six, and another little one on the way, so when I spoke to David [Holdsworth, United's director of football] about it I let him know straight away that I couldn’t really sign a one-year offer.

“That was the only stumbling block, to be honest. The money side was ok, it was just the length of the deal.

"I spoke to the manager on the phone and I told him the same thing. I made it clear that it wasn’t about the money, or anything like that, it was just about the length of the deal that was there for me.”

Devitt said he has received "lots of offers" of two and three-year deals from other clubs.

He has been strongly linked with Plymouth and Swindon among other outfits.

"I just feel I need to look after my family first and foremost at this moment in time,” he added.

“The thing for me is that you’re only in this game for a short amount of time and you have to look after yourself and your family while you’re still involved.

“We don’t earn lots and lots of money, even though some people think we do. If you look at the likes of Bury and Bolton, their players haven’t been paid and some of them are really struggling because of that.

“It’s only a short career and that’s why the biggest thing for some players is to make sure they have a bit of security behind them. You get that with the length of the contract.”

United have themselves yet to comment on the length of deal they tabled to the Irishman.

Holdsworth recently maintained Carlisle had made Devitt a "very good" offer and that the club had "done everything we can" to encourage him to stay.

Supporters' trust CUOSC said Devitt's departure was due to a combination of his own ambition and "the new sobriety" the club had adopted financially since the involvement of backers Edinburgh Woollen Mill.

They insisted Devitt's exit "was always likely, no matter the terms offered by United".

The fan group also claimed there had been "predictable claims of a club in 'chaos' who lack any ambition" from some supporters.

Devitt, meanwhile, added that he "loved" playing for Carlisle and that leaving the Cumbrians had not been an easy decision.

He said he would miss everyone at the club and said it had been "like a little family to me".

“There’s no bitterness whatsoever towards the club now that I’m moving on because it’s a great place to be and they’ve looked after me from day one," he added.

Devitt insisted he had not yet made a decision on his next destination.