NO player is irreplaceable.

That is the warning from Colchester United manager Aidy Boothroyd following the news that fans’ favourite Marc Tierney had rejected the offer of a contract extension.

The 24-year-old left-back has allegedly drawn interest from a number of Championship clubs this season following a string of impressive performances.

And with just one more season to run on his current deal, the hard-hitting full-back revealed earlier this week that – while he ‘couldn’t see himself in another shirt’ – he was also keen to negotiate the best possible package for himself and his young family.

“I like Marc a lot,” said U’s boss Boothroyd. “I thought he was a Tasmanian Devil of a player to start with, but he now has more emotional control and has improved as a player too.

“What will happen is that we will sit down and make him an offer. If he decides to sign then brilliant, if he doesn’t sign then we’ll see what happens after that.

“There is no player at this club that can’t be replaced – I honestly believe that.

“We’ll do everything we can to keep Marc, but sometimes players just don’t want to stay for whatever reason.

“I think Marc wants to stay; I like him, I think he likes me, so we’ll see where that takes us.”

Meanwhile, Boothroyd has confirmed that he sees both Simon Hackney and Medy Elito having futures at Colchester United.

The U’s boss admits he had a difficult decision to make last week when deciding which one of the aforementioned wingers he should recall from loan following injury to John-Joe O’Toole.

Elito is enjoying a successful end-of-season loan spell at League Two side Cheltenham at present, the 20-year-old winger having scored three goals in nine appearances for the relegation-threatened side.

However, in the end it was Hackney who was brought back to Essex following his eight game spell at play-off chasing League Two outfit Morecambe. The 26-year-old came on as a 63rd minute substitute at Hartlepool last week and gave away a penalty in the 3-1 defeat.

“I decided it was much better for him (Elito) to stay there. I had a decision to make when John-Joe did his cruciate and I thought that Medy was a young guy growing up a bit, while Simon was a bit more experienced.

“Medy will definitely be back with us for pre-season and will be part of the squad for next year. Simon is also very much part of plans.”

Meanwhile, it looks increasingly unlikely that two other Colchester players out on loan – Pat Baldwin and Scott Vernon – will remain at the club come the start of next season.

The duo are both currently on loan at rivals Southend United at present and have spoken out this week about their U’s futures.

Striker Vernon – who has scored four goals in 15 games at the financially stricken Shrimpers – has just two months to run on his Colchester deal.

“Nothing’s been said. I’ve not spoken to the manager (Aidy Boothroyd) since I joined here (Southend). Whether I will be speaking to him in the near future remains to be seen,” said the 26-year-old, who scored in the 7-1 rout of Norwich on the opening day of the season before a loan spell at Gillingham last October was cut short by an ankle injury.

And defender Baldwin – who started the Boothroyd regime as captain before picking up a serious knee injury in his first game – had a similar message.

“I’ve been told I practically haven’t got one (a future), so we’ll just have to wait and see what happens in the summer,” said the 27-year-old, who still has two years to run on his U’s contract.

Boothroyd has already tried to sell Baldwin to Bristol Rovers this season after his loan spell at the club.