It may have been inevitable, but ultimately an expected goodbye can often come with a tinge of regret and what-ifs.
For John Russell and Sligo Rovers, they will have to plan without one of the revelations from last season's SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division.
On Tuesday, it became clear that striker Owen Elding would be departing the Showgrounds and making the move to Scottish top-flight side Hibernian.
Still only 19, the talented son of Sligo's former English forward Anthony Elding made quite an impression last season, with 16 goals in all competitions, many of them spectacular.
In an ideal world, Bit O'Red boss Russell would have loved to plan ahead with Elding in mind this season.
But the youngster, who is in the process of gaining Irish citizenship, is leaving the north west and his soon-to-be former manager is convinced that Hibs will have a gem on their hands.
"Both clubs have agreed a deal, it's just the formalities now and getting his medical done," Russell told RTÉ Sport as the League of Ireland season was launched at Whelan's Bar in Dublin on Wednesday.
"It was always inevitable he was going to go at some point"
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) January 28, 2026
Sligo Rovers manager John Russell speaks to @RafDLeitrim about Owen Elding's impending move to Hibs: https://t.co/lIjfrj8izQ pic.twitter.com/SL87qGMQAd
"Unfortunately, for me as a manager, (it's) so close to the start of the season, losing a player of his calibre.
"But it was always inevitable he was going to go at some point. Top class player, young player of the year, (in the) team of the year and the challenge now is to replace those goals.
"But I couldn't speak highly enough of Owen as a guy. He came through the academy, into the first team. What a kid. Character, mentality, he'll do very well."
As regards to how far Elding can go from here, Russell is adamant that it's "right to the very top" given how he approaches his career off the pitch.
"It's no coincidence or suprise to us what he achieved last year to get those nominations. But his ceiling is really high," he said.
The reported fee of around €400k will soften the blow somewhat. But regardless, Elding is now part of Sligo's past and the aim for 2026 is to improve on a season when the club avoided a bottom two finish on the final day and suffered a giantkilling in the FAI Cup at the hands of Kerry.
Slow starts have hampered Sligo in both of the last two seasons, with mid-season revivals proving crucial in keeping them above water.
A few weeks back, Russell had indicated that they had never felt so prepared for a season, given how much business they were able to do early on in the window.
"I think I said that at the start of pre-season and then Paddy McClean went to Derry and Owen Elding's gone to Hibs, so the challenge starts again with us at Sligo," he added.
"I've brought in eight new players, a few from within the league. But exciting talents. When you look at Ryan O'Kane, who was in on loan last year, we made that permanent. Alex Nolan has come in. So two guys who I think will do really well.
"Archie Meekison has come in from Bohemians and I think Jeannot Esua from Galway, for me, was the best right-back in the country. We've recruited well.
"The challenge now for me and the staff is gelling all these lads together and hopefully we can have that faster start and just stay and be in the mix and in the pack early on because you don't want to be getting cut adrift."
Up front, the manager is hopeful that Guinean striker Mai Traore can fill part of the Elding void, having joined from Notts County on loan until the end of June.
Plus, Russell believes there is "more to come" from Cian Kavanagh in his second season at the Showgrounds after scoring five goals last season.
But he is still keen to strengthen that forward area before they kick off against Derry City next Friday.
"Hopefully we'll maybe bring another player in at the top end of the pitch because that's always a challenge to get goals and win matches, and we want to try and do that."
One notable aspect of last season was the geographical split in the league. The top half was occupied by all four of the Dublin clubs and Derry City, with Drogheda United putting themselves in the mix too.
However, heading away from the capital region and from Foyleside, Sligo, Galway United, Waterford were not in their slipstream, with Cork City going down.
"I think it's probably just the financial clout of those clubs compared to the others. It's probably a split of five and five," Russell said.
"Will that be the case again this year? Quite possibly. Normally across all leagues in the world, the teams that pay the most in salaries - not necessarily transfer fees - it's been proven that they're at the top of the table. But there's always a surprise package every season, you've the FAI Cup as well as a route into Europe and despite our model, the staff I have working with me, the players that we recruit, we're all ambitious.
"We're all hungry to win matches. It's very challenging in our league, so you've got to be on it and hopefully we'll have a good season."
