We can confirm that defender Rory McArdle has left the club and has joined fellow Sky Bet League Two outfit Harrogate Town.
After conversations with Matt Taylor, Rory expressed his wish to return back to Yorkshire with his young family.
Rory joined the club in May of last year and made 27 appearances for the Grecians, scoring once - our only goal in a 1-0 win at Stevenage in December. He formed an excellent defensive partnership with Alex Hartridge and drew praise across the board for his guidance of of some of the younger members of the first team squad.
Matt Taylor said: "Rory phoned me a couple of weeks ago and just said that his family had struggled to settle down here.
"When the opportunity came to him to go back up North, we had to be respectful of that.
"I've got a lot of time for Rory and he was fantastic for us last season, both on and off the pitch, and he isn't someone we wanted to lose. But, we can understand it and we respect it."
We'd like to thank Rory for all his contributions and wish him all the very best at Harrogate Town.