THREAT TO PROJECT
MALKY MACKAY insists Project Brave is still on track despite several clubs threatening a revolt after a series of crisis meetings.
As revealed in our sister paper the Sunday Mail, academy chiefs from 13 clubs met last week amid fears over the SFA’s new development plans to create an elite tier for youth football.
The representatives held more crunch talks yesterday with many of the sides outwith the big five of Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibs voicing concerns over the criteria to get in.
Up to 20 clubs have applied for elite academy status but many are unhappy with several details including the demand to have six full-time staff focusing on development. Record Sport understands there are also worries about the structure below the eight-club top tier.
Mackay is overseeing the implementation and insisted Project Brave is not under threat ahead of next month’s final decision for the applicants.
The performance director said: “The bid document went out and we received them back. We will liaise with the clubs now until the end of June.
“We’ll sit down and talk to them about where we think they are and then it’s up to them to decide to stick or twist.
“So there’s a lot of work going on at the moment inside the SFA and at clubs to decide what they are getting as it’s obviously a financial commitment they are putting in place as well.
“So at the moment that’s where we are. We’ve had the bids in, so the clubs that wanted to bid have bid. That’s the clubs we will now deal with over the next six weeks.”
Mackay admitted the clubs were holding talks but he insisted the discussions were not official and surrounded the set-up below the elite level.
He said: “What you saw in the story was a meeting of the club’s academy directors and heads of academies to talk about what would happen with the clubs who are not in the elite programme. So there are a group of clubs that won’t be in it to start with but might aspire to get there, so they will be wanting to talk about that.
“Bear in mind it wasn’t a meeting of football clubs, it was a meeting of heads of academies.”
Mackay, meanwhile, insists coaching the coaches is key to growing Scotland’s unfinished gems into “lean, mean fighting machines”.
He has the job of overseeing the development of the country’s young talent and is working to ensure Scotland’s most gifted kids get the best opportunity to become senior stars.
But in order to get the kids shining he believes those in charge also need education.
Mackay said: “Too many coaches get their badges and two years later they’ve failed because we haven’t helped them. We’re trying to change that.
“Unfortunately the dropout rate among our coaches is huge.
“I use the analogy that earning their Pro Licence is like passing their driving test.
“Then two years later they’re put into a Formula 1 car and crash it because they’ve never been taught how to do that.
“So we need to ensure that the learning process and the mentoring doesn’t stop at Pro Licence level.”