Craig Levein had no problem with Liam Gordon swapping St Johnstone for Motherwell.
The double-winning defender, who captained his hometown club for the last three seasons of his nine, cited the desire for a “fresh challenge” when it came to making his mind up whether to stay at McDiarmid Park after his contract ran out in the summer.
Levein has rebuilt his defence following the departure of Gordon, Ryan McGowan, Andy Considine, Tony Gallacher and James Brown.
And, ahead of Gordon’s weekend return to the ground he knows so well, the Perth boss was philosophical about the recent parting of the ways.
“It was Liam’s choice in the summer,” said Levein.
“He was here a long time, captained the club and won two trophies.
“Liam was out of contract and I’m not going to criticise anybody for deciding to move on.
“It happens all the time in football.”
Who will replace Adama Sidibeh up front for Saints?
Meanwhile, there won’t be a battle between Gordon and his former team-mate, Adama Sidibeh, as the Saints striker starts a lengthy ban on Saturday.
Levein is confident he has the attacking resources to cope without the Gambian international.
“We do have options to replace Adama,” he said. “And hopefully those will include Uche (Ikpeazu) soon.
“This is his second week at St George’s and they’ve got all the equipment and experts you could want to help you come back as quick as possible.
“It’s the best place for him just now.
“Makenzie (Kirk) has done well so far.
“The only reason he hasn’t played more is that the two strikers have been so good.
“Nicky (Clark) has slowly been getting himself back to full fitness and has been good in training.
“Benji (Kimpioka) will start and it will be a case of who plays with him.
“Maybe it will be a case of needing some of one and some of the other at different stages of the game.”
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