SAINTS chief Mike Harris says the departure of six players at the end of the season marks the end of an era.
"We have had some great times and won some great trophies," he says.
"The trouble with football is that it is ever changing. To make progress we have got to bring a few new ones in. It is a very tough business."
Management duo Andy Cale and Mike Davies released leading scorer John Toner, stalwart midfielder John Leah plus Alfie Carter, Duane Courtney, Rob Williams and Stephen Connor in an end-of-season purge after the club's first failure to secure a top-two finish in eight years.
But Harris pointed to the acquisition of Matthew Berkeley, Steve Evans, Alex Darlington and Conall Murtagh as symbols of the club's determination to improve, and academy player John McKenna's elevation to the first team as justification for the academy system.
"Coming second last season and third this season is just not acceptable," he explained, saying that much of the work in building a new team has been done during the season, so it would only be necessary to find two or three key players to put a side together ready for European action this summer.
"Much as we thank our loyal servants for their services, we have got to make these changes to create the spaces," he added.