Ballymena United boss David Jeffrey facing tricky player battle admits Gerard Lyttle

Gerard Lyttle admits he has sympathy with Ballymena United manager David Jeffrey over the struggle to keep his star players at the Showgrounds.

The Sky Blues have lost several key men in recent years, including the likes of Shay McCartan, Kofi Balmer, Johnny McMurray, Adam Lecky and Jude Winchester.

All five were snapped up by full-time clubs, despite Ballymena offering fresh terms to retain their services on Warden Street.

Jeffrey recently hit out at the critics who claim Ballymena "lack ambition" by selling their top stars.

And Northern Ireland Under 17 and 19 boss Lyttle believes clubs like Ballymena will struggle to compete with the lure of full-time football within the Irish League.

"Ballymena pretty much hit Europe by selling Shay McCartan. They got over £100,000 for him," Lyttle told Belfast Live's That's What I Call Football podcast.

"You could argue about ambition, but do you think for one second that David Jeffrey hasn't offered these players deals to stay? Of course he has. He wants them all to stay.

"The majority of these players are young and ambitious and want to play full-time football. Kofi Balmer is an example, a kid at 20 or 21 who was captain of the Northern Ireland Under 21s recently. He sees himself possibly going across the water.

"The closest thing at the minute is Larne and going full-time, that will give him a better opportunity to go across the water."

It is understood Larne are eyeing up Ballymena captain Leroy Millar, who comes out of contract this summer.

Jeffrey insists it is his club's desire to retain the services of the 26-year-old, but conceded that the decision will come down to the player.

Lyttle said: "Leroy Millar is a Ballymena legend. He's a local lad and great player and kid. I