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Kakay hails a huge change under McCall
OSMAN KAKAy is even more grateful than most at Firhill that Ian McCall left Ayr United to replace Gary Caldwell.
The 22-year-old has been transformed from a defender into a potent attacking threat under the new manager’s stewardship.
Playing as a winger on Saturday, his pace and close control made him Man of the Match as Thistle reached the Tunnock’s Caramel Wafer Cup quarter-finals by beating the team who knocked Kilmarnock out of the Europa League.
McCall has certainly restored the fragile confidence of the players and helped them believe in themselves again. None more so than Kakay, who was signed on loan from Queens Park Rangers by Caldwell last month.
‘I’m a right-back by trade but the gaffer spoke to me and said that he sees me as a winger,’ he said. ‘I like to think I’m versatile and I’m willing to play anywhere to help the team.
‘That was my first match in the position and I thought I did all right. I enjoyed it and I’m hungry — I want to be playing every week’ so if that chance is there then I want to take it.
‘Back in the day I was a winger but I was converted into a defender when I turned pro, so I’m just getting back into the drift of the role, working hard at it in training and I can feel it all coming back to me. I can be more effective.
‘I’m here until January but everything has been going well recently. I was out of the team for a spell, but I’m back in now and I need regular game time.
‘If I get that, then I’d be happy to stay here until the end of the season but the main thing at the moment is just to keep playing.’
The doom and gloom which hovered over the stadium during Caldwell’s tenure have been dispelled by McCall’s appointment, albeit the Jags remain bottom of the Championship.
Kakay claims the atmosphere now is unrelentingly upbeat, as was evidenced when Raffaele De Vita put Thistle in front just before half-time, with James Penrice getting the crucial second 12 minutes from time.
The only downside for the Jags was a glaring miss by Kenny Miller shortly after their opener when the veteran striker sliced a shot from eight yards wide of target.
‘I’ve definitely noticed a big difference since the new gaffer has been here,’ said Sierra Leone international Kakay.
‘I’d been at the club for a couple of weeks under the previous manager, and I’ve had to adapt to that transition.
‘He’s come in and given everyone a clean slate. Since then, all the boys have moved up to a different level and it’s been much better.
‘The biggest change is the intensity he insists on at training. Everyone has to be at it all the time and, as everyone wants to be starting on a Saturday, I believe that competition will push us on.
‘We’re in the quarter-finals of this competition now and we really want to go to the end in it. This is the longest cup run I’ve ever had and we have a great chance to win it, especially after coming through this tie. We can kick on from here.
‘The progress we’ve made has been good for our confidence and we now need to take that into our league game at Dundee on Saturday.
‘We took advantage of the fact they gave us time on the ball and we played some good one-touch football but we have to carry on doing that.’