THE Shrimps have tonight agreed to release Michael Twiss.

Twiss approached boss Sammy McIlroy and asked to be released from his contract before the end of the season and the club agreed.

Vice-Chairman Graham Hodgson said: "Michael came to us and asked if he could be allowed to leave before the end of the season and after discussing the matter with him and Sammy we agreed to his request.

"Michael has been a superb servant to Morecambe FC over the past six years and we are very grateful to him for his efforts and we wish him all the best in the future.''

Twiss has thanked Shrimps' fans for their support.

The former Manchester United player, who joined the Shrimps from Chester in 2004, said he wanted to say goodbye to the fans who had supported him over the past six years.

Speaking to Morecambe Player tonight he said: "The fans at Morecambe have been brilliant to me over the years and I want to thank them for everything they have done for me.

"I have had a great time at the club and the fans really do play their part in making Morecambe a special club. They have always shown me great support and I will never forget that.

"Wembley was an obvious highlight but the year I scored 27 goals in the Conference was a superb one. It is hard to pick out one special game but I remember scoring twice at Cambridge one afternoon on a really good afternoon.

Talking about his departure he said: "I have been in and out of the side really over the past two years and I am 32 now and just want to play regularly really. I will hopefully be back at Morecambe to see people soon and will definitely go to the new stadium when it is built.''