Stephen Robinson has admitted James Bolton's St Mirren transfer exit request caught him by surprise but insisted the Fleetwood Town transfer deal was sanctioned with "one eye on something else".
The English centre-back requested a move back down south for family reasons with a quickfire negotiation resulting in a six-figure transfer fee banked by the Paisley club.
Robinson had expected to keep hold of Bolton for the upcoming season but has assured supporters work to sign a replacement is ongoing with a new face expected in the building next week.
"It was disappointing to lose him because I thought we had our squad set," said Robinson after St Mirren's 1-0 pre-season win over Dunfermline.
"James made it very clear he didn't want to be at the football club, for family reasons.
"I only want people here that want to be at the club and want to push for the football club.
"If everyone's not going in the same direction, it just doesn't work.
"Ultimately, we've let James go with one eye on something else so hopefully we'll have that done by the early part of next week."
Read more:
-
SMiSA backtrack on St Mirren Conference League ballot decision
-
St Mirren transfer model is working - James Bolton deal proves it
Bolton's surprise exit forces Robinson's hands to delve into the transfer market again this summer with a list of targets drawn up rapidly ahead of European football later this month.
"It was a surprise," said Robinson of Bolton's exit request. "We weren't looking for centre halves because we had them all set.
"It was a family decision, he's based down there and he had the opportunity to move a lot closer to home. I understand it. I've been a footballer.
"James is a good boy, a good kid and he gets to be closer to his family so we wish him nothing but the best."
Pushed on a timeline for a replacement in central defence, Robinson added: "We're speaking to quite a few players at the moment .
"We're hoping to have a deal in place on Monday or Tuesday."
Robinson handed runouts to new signings Ellery Balcombe, Oisin Smyth, Shaun Rooney and Roland Idowu in the narrow victory at East End Park.
On the new additions, he said: "We knew Ellery Balcombe was a top class goalkeeper. He gives us a new added dimension playing out from the back.
"His distribution was quality.
"Oisin Smyth and Shaun Rooney have not played for 10 or 12 weeks, so they're a bit behind everybody. They still showed their quality.
"Roland Idowu is a classy player. He adds a bit of class and invention and ultimately I'll probably play him further up the pitch than I did today.
"People came through without injuries."
Dunfermline assistant Dave Mackay said of the feisty pre-season contest: "That's great, I like that! Mark O'Hara early on hits a couple of our players and sets the tone.
"Sometimes these pre-season games are teams just passing it about with no real edge to it, it was nothing over the top but I don't mind that at all in terms of getting ready for the real stuff.
"You knew within two minutes, O'Hara smashed him so brilliant, it gets everyone knowing it's not just a friendly game and it's going to be competitive - I enjoyed that side of it."
