Jemeiko Jennings and Bermuda Hogges have split acrimoniously after the shamed midfielder went AWOL from team duties for more than a month, The Royal Gazette can reveal.

Jennings, who did not make a single USL-D2 appearance, turned up to just a handful of training sessions before his 'invisible man' act and even failed to notify the Hogges of his decision to quit.

It is understood he will jump ship and sign up for David Bascome's Island Soccer League (ISL) with the Royal, who Jennings played for last summer, his most likely destination.

Hogges coach Kyle Lightbourne had high hopes for the talented North Village midfielder who he signed pre-season, but was left dismayed and frustrated by his lack of commitment and desire to test himself at the higher level.

Lightbourne said Jennings' controversial departure had left a bitter taste in the mouth and was disappointed he used ISL representatives to break the news to them.

"We are really disappointed about the whole situation," said Lightbourne. "We've had ISL representatives calling us up and asking about Jemeiko's availability for a while now - it's just not the way to do things.

"At least Jemeiko could have told us himself and showed us a bit more respect. He gave us a long speech at the start of the season saying how much he wanted to be a part of the Hogges, but I think he turned up to about three training sessions.

"It's frustrating because there are a lot of players out there who would give anything to be involved with the Hogges."

Jennings, who was named in the national team squad to face Barbados, is the second Hogges player to be released from his contract this month after Robert Wilson left for personal reasons.

But Lightbourne stressed the circumstances surrounding the departures of Wilson and Jennings could not be compared.

"We have no problem with Robert who showed a great attitude while he was with the Hogges. Robert came to us himself and explained his situation."

Lightbourne should have a strong squad to select from when the Hogges take on high-flying Cleveland City Stars at the National Sports Centre tonight.

"We should have a much stronger team against Stars than we did against Pioneers," said Lightbourne. "The guys who came in against Pioneers on Tuesday did a reasonable job, but the return of our experienced players will give us a boost.

"I was impressed with Darius Cox though. He wasn't at fault for either goal and has given us a tough decision to make."

Midfielder Stevie Astwood is still struggling to recover from a knee injury.

The Hogges take on Cleveland City Stars at 6 p.m at the NSC.