Steven MacLean will leave St Johnstone a legend, according to Perth boss Tommy Wright.
But even legends aren’t irreplaceable.
The veteran forward has secured a two-year deal with Hearts that Saints couldn’t match and will move on in the summer with the appreciation of his team-mates, supporters and Wright himself for the part he has played in the golden era of the McDiarmid Park club.
Now it is Wright’s job to make sure that they cope with the loss of another of their Scottish Cup-winning heroes.
“Hearts contacted us to keep us informed about speaking to Steven so I am resigned to the fact he’ll be going there,” he said.
“We can’t compete with what they’ll be able to offer wages-wise and also a two-year deal.
“I am delighted for him, he doesn’t owe me anything and he doesn’t owe the club anything either.
“I am pleased he’s getting an opportunity like this at this stage of his career.
“It has all been handled the right way so when he does leave he will go with everyone’s good wishes.
“He has played the most here than he has at any other club and will quite rightly be regarded as a legend at St Johnstone.
“Macca doesn’t look upon it like that. The way he thinks is he’s just done his job but he’s been key to the success we’ve had.
“He’s been in the top six with us, played and scored in Europe and obviously the biggest goal of all was in the Scottish Cup final.
“It has probably surpassed anything he thought of when he signed.
“But time moves on for everyone and it’s unfortunate that it’s coming to an end.
“He has four games left to play for us and we will get plenty out of him before he leaves.”
Wright added: “Macca will leave a void but while he is a strong character in the dressing-room we do have other ones.
“His experience has been important for us. He’s not slow to give his opinions on and off the pitch.
“So there will be a void when he leaves but that’s football and it’s up to us to find someone else to come in.
“We have lost a lot of players from the cup final squad now but that’s a natural thing, the game moves on.
“Things change and it’s about how you manage it happening.”
Wright hasn’t decided yet if he will be targeting an out-and-out centre forward in the summer to replace MacLean or a versatile attacker.
He said: “We already have David McMillan, Chris Kane and Callum Hendry here but we will have to look at the attacking area.
“A lot will depend on who we can get in. We might look for someone who can play wide as well as up front.
“We have options and are looking at them, so we will be recruiting someone for next season.”
Saints have ended up with two home games and three away in their post-split fixture schedule, starting with a trip to Dundee on Saturday, but Wright doesn’t see any cause for complaint.
“Everyone has a moan at the fixtures but the anomaly is always there,” he pointed out.
“People know about it at the start of the season, it hasn’t changed so there’s nothing you can do about it.
“We haven’t got the games we expected but you just have to get on with it.
“It’s a difficult thing for the league to sort out at times. It is what it is.”
