Hoops of 98 are just like my County
MALKY MACKAY insists Ross County’s squad vibe reminds him of the Celtic dressing room that ended Rangers’ quest for 10 in a row.
The former Parkhead defender was part of the Wim Jansen team that ended Walter Smith’s run of titles in 1997-98.
Stars including Alan Stubbs, Marc Rieper, Craig Burley, Paul Lambert and Henrik Larsson forged a formidable team spirit.
Mackay also experienced a similar strength of unity as a player in promotion successes at Norwich, West Ham and Watford.
It was there too when he guided Cardiff to the Premier League as a manager.
Mackay doesn’t make the comparison lightly but reckons that special mix will help steer County to safety this season.
He said: “I was fortunate to be at clubs in my career where something happened.
“We managed to win the league with Celtic, and I got promotion with Norwich, West Ham and Watford as a player.
“I then managed to get a promotion with Cardiff. In most of those single years you got a vibe of why it was going well.
“It’s not the way it is every year in dressing rooms.
“It’s not always that you win something at the end of it but if there’s a good group together for a period of time something usually happens. It’s so important.”
In a blunt assessment of the squad he filleted last summer with 16 departures, Mackay admitted character traits were assessed as he made 12 new signings.
The Staggies boss said: “People can be up and down in terms of form but application and behaviour are two things that should be a given for a top-level team.
“I will not have any lack of that at this club. Hence the decision about the people that were leaving.
“For the players that we were then trying to bring in, there were a lot of criteria involved. Character is huge though.
“They had to be people who fitted into a group, the culture of the group we were building.
“What breeds culture is good team work, leadership and various fundamentals.
“Park your ego at the door. Put your shoulder to the wheel and work for each other.
“That’s something that I have been seeing recently here.”