Norwich City keeper John Ruddy admitted Tony Parks' exit to join Tim Sherwood's Aston Villa set-up is a big loss for the Canaries.

The departure of City's keeping coach was confirmed on Monday lunchtime by the club after a successful stint working with Ruddy and the rest of City's keepers since originally being recruited by former boss Neil Adams at the start of the Championship season.

Norwich manager Alex Neil confirmed at Colney a replacement will be in place over the next couple of days, and Ruddy is backing the club to get it right again.

'I haven't been asked for my opinion on that yet. I trust the club to appoint the right type of person. They did it with Parksy in the summer and I have no doubt they will do it now,' he said. 'My initial reaction is firstly massive disappointment. I only worked with him from the start of the season and he is a great coach but more importantly a fantastic guy.

'He instilled confidence in me this year, like no-one else has, and a genuinely nice guy who had a big impact on me and everyone else in the changing room. He will be sorely missed but we wish him all the best.

'We had that bond and it won't just be me who misses him. He brought a lot to the club and the changing room and was very encouraging to the lads. He has been brilliant in the six months he has been here.'

Neil could not stand in the way of Parks' Premier League opportunity.

'Tony was a good and valued member of my team but he got an offer he couldn't really refuse,' he said. 'He had worked with Tim before at Spurs and they are close friends. To be fair, it was difficult for Tony because he had bonded well here and was enjoying the job but sometimes for financial and family reasons it is better for people to move on and that was the case with Tony.

'We hope to get something announced in the next couple of days. We have been working since we were aware of the situation. Tony knew that as wel so we haven't left anything until the last minute.

'After the game on Saturday I made the players aware Tony would be moving on so it is completely amicable. He did a fantastic job for me working with John and I know he will miss him but that is the nature of football and the turnover is huge in terms of personnel. We wish him all the best at Aston Villa.'