I’ve loved looking at different side to life but game is in my blood.. I hope it will have a big part in my future too
McKinnon opens up on big call to quit Queen’s after title
The solitary confinement of living in digs as an apprentice at Dundee United was broken by the relief of Ray McKinnon’s chap on the door.
As a teenager in the early 1990s he had already pushed through to the Terrors’ first team.
He was excited about a band he liked who we r e pl ay i ng in some basement bar.
There was an offer to tag along so this wr iter jumped at it, the swagger to the bar, some ref lected glory of striding alongside a guy who tended to court attention wherever he went in town. There has been a lot of water under the bridge since then. Decades have passed since we were team-mates in Dundee but McKinnon has always had a few extra strings to his bow. He’s knocking down walls in his Tayside hou s e a s he prepares to speak for the first time about leaving Queen’s Park back in May, despite leading the Spiders to the League Two title at his first attempt.
Talk cent res on his building work, renovation and the bigger picture of chapters new. Recriminations just aren’t his thing. In his first interview since leaving the Spiders, the 51-yearold told MailSport he prefers to allow his results to speak for themselves.
He said: “It’s four months since I left Queen’s and it’s given me time for reflection.
“Winning the title was great. I’ll keep that memory and cherish it while wishing all the players continued success this season as 90 per cent of the squad are still there.
“At the moment I’m focused on the work the house needs.
“I have other opportunities that I’m considering and I’m not one for looking backwards.
“I’m proud of what I’ve achieved. Football is all about being in the right place at the right time and that applies as much in management as it does as a player.
“Players and managers come and go, what doesn’t change is that everyone is judged on results.
I can hold my win ratio up as testament to the work I’ve done at all of the clubs I’ve been at so that’s personally satisfying.”
After success at Brechin and Raith Rovers, McKinnon became the hottest managerial ticket in the country when he left Stark’s Park to return to his spiritual home at Dundee United in 2016.
The trials and tribulations at Tannadice during his reign were centred around boardroom power struggles, fan unrest and a financial basket case. They were to prove insurmountable for a manager who has no desire to turn back time
He said: “My spell at Tannadice was all about timing.
“There was no money and fans wanted a change of ownership but it was a job I couldn’t turn down so I have no regrets.
“Dundee United were the club I supported and to manage them was an ambition. I am happy with
that body of work. There was a Challenge Cup win and we were only denied promotion after a play-off loss to Hamilton that was all about small margins.
“Simon Murray was sent off in the first game after being wrongly booked for diving.
“In fact, it was a stonewall penalty that, if given, might have seen United promoted to the Premier League.
“In football they sometimes go for you – but on that occasion unfortunately it didn’t go our way.
“The match finished 0- 0 then we lost the second leg 1- 0.
“I’ve learned at every club I’ve managed, you learn as you go, and the experiences stand you in good stead for what lies ahead.”
McKinnon spent the summer dipping his toe into a host of new ventures both at home and abroad as well as staying on a boat off the Scottish coast.
He revealed he has always been aware there’s more to life than just football.
He said: “I’ve been tapping into friends and fami ly who are involved in the business side of the world.
“That has been great and I’ve loved looking at a different side of life and another picture away from football.
“It’s given me a new appetite for life. I have a friend who’s involved in the tech business and I’ve looked at that so it’s been a new chapter and an enjoyable one.
“When you get the time to take a breath away from football, you appreciate all you have and realise there is another world away from the game.
“Some of what I’ve looked at in business has interested me but football is in my blood so it’ll never be far away.”
The McKinnon CV has always made for impressive reading.
He left Morton sitting top of the
Championshiphip to head to Falkirk rk only to depart t just over a year later. It was a frustrating spell pell at the Bairns, another club in off-fieldeld disarray at the time.
But when itt comes to his exit as a title-winningning boss at Queen’s, the former Aberdeenberdeen midfielder prefers to talkk up the positives and the legacyy of a team that are attempting too climb further up the ladder.
He said: “I bought into a vision I wass given when I accepted the job at Queen’s.
“It excited me and I played my part in successful ly completing thehe first stage of that vision. Eyebrowsyebrows may TOUGH TIMESMES Ray frustrated att Falkirk have been raisedraise when I left but football is unpredictable.unpr
“I handed dedebuts to a host of players who area in the Queen’s Park side at the moment. I’m proud of thattha and I’m certain that ssquad have the abilability to be a success agagain this season.
“Results are what w footbal l management m is about a and that will w never change. “I ’ m look ing forward fo to what’s aroundaro the corner an d hopefully winningwin footba l l matchesmatc has a big part to play in my future.” It’s aall about building for McMcKinnon at the momentmomen – and he’ll leave the sledgehammersled for knocking knockin down the walls just now.