Stephen Robinson admits St Mirren's star keeper Jak Alnwick will be a tough act to follow.
But the Buddies boss believes he's already lined up a stellar replacement to ensure his loss isn't too big a blow for the Paisley club.
Former Newcastle stopper Alnwick was in impressive form once again for the Saints yesterday afternoon as they played out a goalless draw with Aberdeen, pulling off some incredible saves to fittingly keep a clean sheet in his final game for the club.
With Cardiff City expected to be his next destination, Robinson wished the goalkeeper well in his next step but is adamant no one player is irreplaceable.
Robinson told Express Sport: "Jak Alnwick was very good before I came in and he was very good again today.
"But I believe we have replaced him already with a like for like, which is difficult.
"We have done some very good business early when we knew Jak was leaving.
"We thank him for his contributions. Players like that are difficult to replace for teams like St Mirren, but I feel that we are able to.
"Jak leaves with our thanks and our supporters’ thanks.
"But everybody is replaceable and we have to make sure we do that, and we will do that."
The Buddies finished their eventful Premiership season by going four games unbeaten, bagging four clean sheets in the process and finishing above former boss Jim Goodwin's Aberdeen.
Robinson believes that now his side have learned how to keep the door shut at the back, this summer it will be all about adding some spark and creativity to the final third.
Robinson said: "In the last few games we've put a template in place and been very organised and hard to break down.
"We've not been conceding goals and that’s the first time since 2011 that St Mirren have kept four clean sheets in a row in the league.
"So the template is there defensively. We know what we need to do over the summer.
"We need to build on the core of players we've got here while trying to get in more pace, athleticism and more creativity into the team."
