Wanderers stopper Adam Bogdan paid tribute to outgoing keeper colleague Jussi Jaaskelainen, who this week ended his 15 year stay at the club after agreeing a one year contract with West Ham United.
Since the turn of the year Bogdan kept the long-serving Finn out of the side with some impressive displays, but admitted that being understudy to Jaaskelainen taught him a lot.
He said: "You can't help but learn off someone with his experience. He has taught me so much and for that I'll always have reason to thank him.
"It's always sad when a team-mate leaves. For me, even more so given that I was fortunate enough to train with him every day, but we'll definitely stay in touch.
"I'm sure that everyone associated with Bolton Wanderers wishes him well and thank him for his service over the last 15 years. He'll always be an absolute legend here."
Bogdan's form last season has seen him add to his tally of international caps this month by playing in friendlies for Hungary, making it a productive summer.
"I played against Czech Republic, a game which we won, and also against the Republic of Ireland, a 0-0 draw. I managed to get two more caps, so on the international front it was a good end to the season for me."
Despite his progress for the Hungarian national team, Bogdan's focus is now firmly on Bolton's Championship campaign.
The 2012/13 fixtures are released on Monday and Bogdan is up for the challenge but warned that it will be a challenging season.
"We now have to get our minds focussed on the Championship, it's going to be really tough. There are a lot of games against some very good teams.
"We have to rest, train hard and start strongly. It goes without saying that we need to win games with the plan of course being promotion straight back to the Premier League."