I had chased Malky for seven years... I never expected such a backlash
MacGregor says fans are on board now
CHIEF Roy MacGregor underestimated the likelihood of a supporter backlash to Malky Mackay’s appointment as Ross County manager last summer.
But early controversy aside, the Staggies chairman believes the former SFA performance director is winning hearts and minds in Dingwall while implementing a crucial change in the club’s culture. Mackay’s troubles began in 2014 when former club Cardiff sent a dossier to the English FA relating to text message exchanges with sporting director Iain Moody. He apologised for two messages he admitted were disrespectful of other cultures but denied racism, sexism and homophobia. Neither individual was charged by the FA. The allegations have dogged Mackay despite a successful spell as development strategist within the SFA. Anti-racism group Kick It Out made supportive comments at the time of his appointment, noting he’d undergone equality and diversity training. And last night
MacGregor said: “Looking back, some of the supporter backlash at the beginning was more than I thought a Highland club could have produced.
“Maybe we didn’t explain the depth of what the thinking was in hiring him. It was more than a football manager.
“He got a hard time and people weren’t giving him a chance but in the last spell people have got quite excited about what they have seen.
“There’s a bit of flair to the team and we’re the fourthhighest goalscorers.
“We are getting there and I’m confident going into the last 18 games we will have enough to move up the league.
“I’m not on social media but I hear there’s been a turn. I chased Malky for seven years but I never thought he’d come to this level of football. It was just the right time, place and opportunity.
“His experience of managing in the Premier League and overachieving, was important. If he continues his growth, he’ll go back to something bigger and better.”
MacGregor detailed some of the reorganisation in
County’s football operation under Mackay and added: “Normally chairmen hire managers to manage 100 per cent. This wasn’t what we were doing.
“We needed to focus hard from top to bottom, first team to community, all aligned. We’ve changed the medical side dramatically.
“We have a consultant who is the Man City consultant, who is helping us to shape that department.
“The thinking is different from the old ways where anyone who wasn’t fit went to the treatment room and hung about there.
“They’ve got to be in there in the morning. If they are not ready to play they are in the gym and see the physio.
“On the football side, we had to rebuild completely. We’d never have wanted as many loan players as we have just now. But we changed the attitude on that, when the loan player leaves the parent club, they’re a Ross County player.
“Malky has done that team-building to make them feel part of it, growing them.
“I’m confident we have more than achieved what I thought we ‘d get from Malky.
“As much as what is on the park is important, the set-up for the next 10 years was as important to me.”