Blantyre Victoria boss John Gibson admits he was "gutted" after star man Ross Caldwell signed for Darvel.
The former Hibs and St Mirren midfielder brought his three-year stay at Castle Park to a close in favour of the Vics' West of Scotland League rivals.
Gaffer Gibson admits the 26-year-old's Recreation Park switch during pre-season was his biggest disappointment ahead of the Premier Division star.
“Pre-season went well for us,” Gibson told Lanarkshire Live Sport . “We had some good results and good performances.
“Unfortunately we have lost Ross Caldwell to Darvel, and it means we need to look at getting another one or two in.
“Ross is a real loss and we were gutted that he left. He has been one of our top performers and has a good background playing at a high level with Hibs and St Mirren.
“He was a mainstay of our team and to lose him to a rival is a blow, but we have lost players before and picked ourselves up, so we will just have to do that again."
Gibson will look to recruit from the squads that have pulled out of the tier six and seven set-up before the inaugural campaign.
He added: “Financially we can’t offer anything, but there are a few clubs that can’t play now and players will be looking for clubs.
“We’ll get some boys in and have a look at them over the next couple of weeks.
“We’ve had a couple train with us so far so hopefully we will get them sorted now."
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