select/except based on position()

I would like to generate a sequence of numbers. @no contains a number.
$num the item position not to be included.

The following works:
select="/items/item/@no except /items/item[$num]/@no"

But I would like to base the selection on position().
The following first step of the new solution is also working:
select="/items/item[position() != $num]/@no"

Now, I would like to drop @no. I only made it up because I couldn't
solve my problem without it. @no contains the position of the item!

The following is the closed I have been able to get so far, but it doesn't work:
select="/items/item[position() != $num]/position()"

This is what I want: For an item, return the item positions of the other items.

Any hints for how to change the select statement?

Cheers,
Jesper