White sure patience the key to Mackay’s success at Staggies

DESPITE being linked with the vacant position at Hibs and placed on the shortlists for the Manager of the Year awards, it’s fair to say Ross County boss Malky Mackay hasn’t always enjoyed such widespread acclaim during his time in Dingwall. Striker Jordan White insists, however, that there was always one place where the confidence in him coming good never wavered: inside the Staggies’ dressing room. Mackay rung the changes last summer after taking over and kicked off the season with ten games without a win. The side remained bottom of the Premiership until beating Dundee in mid-December, but have gone from strength to strength since — finding themselves in fifth spot and with an unlikely European place in their hands with just three games to go. Even when the campaign looked like being another grim fight for survival rather than an epic chase for a first-ever taste of UEFA competition, though, White insists the players could see quite clearly what Mackay (right) was endeavouring to establish. ‘At the start of the season, looking from the outside, a lot of people maybe thought it wasn’t working out,’ he said. ‘We never felt that. ‘There was a great belief from the management team and staff. They have been excellent for the players and vice versa. ‘I feel the coaching staff are getting the most out of every player in that dressing room. It’s a good place to be. It really is. ‘We weren’t getting the results at the start, but we knew we were playing well. It’s just having that mentality to keep going, maybe not get as edgy and try to take the shackles off a wee bit. ‘We got that win at Dundee, and that just sparked us off. Since then, we have not really looked back. ‘We go into a lot of detail in our game plan and it works. I think that has helped us a lot.’ Asked in the wake of a well-merited draw at Tynecastle about the evident danger of losing Mackay this summer, though, White took a diplomatic approach. ‘That’s not for me to say,’ he replied. ‘When you are doing well, you get touted for elsewhere. He’s the manager of the club just now, and we are delighted with that.’ Although Hearts improved greatly in the second period and had chances themselves, County’s organisation — a testament to Mackay’s work — kept them at bay in the early stages and, after Connor Randall had forced a good early save from Craig Gordon, White put the ball in the net on 35 minutes from a Blair Spittal cross — only for linesman Stuart Stevenson to flag for offside. ‘I thought I was onside at the time, but I can’t say for definite,’ stated White. ‘If I’m just off, I will be a wee bit disappointed in myself. ‘I thought it was a good game and in the end we are probably happy with the point. Any point at this stage is going to be valuable.’ Ross Callachan was also denied by Gordon after the interval, but the best chances of the second half fell to home striker Liam Boyce. The first ended with a shot straight at keeper Ross Laidlaw after being sent clean through and the second, in the dying moments, saw him poke the ball wide of the far post from another great position. ‘It was just one of those days,’ said the Northern Irishman. ‘It wasn’t even just the chances. My decisionmaking on the day was poor. I had the chance to play Gino (Josh Ginnelly) in at one point and even the pass was poor. ‘I’d be more worried if I wasn’t getting chances, but when you get ones like that you have got to take them. ‘The first one, I’ve tried to go under him (Laidlaw) at the near post, because he went down really early, but the second one is one of the easiest finishes you will get. ‘When I was younger I used to dwell on it, but, once you get home and see your kids, it puts everything into perspective and you just move on to the next game.’ Boyce also got into something of a spat with visiting defender Alex Iacovitti and explained why afterwards. ‘I think I jumped for a header and the ref gave a foul and he grabbed me by the head,’ he recalled. ‘You can say what you want on the pitch. Everybody talks, but just don’t touch me. Simple as that. ‘I don’t even think my mum would grab me by the head, so nobody else can.’

HEARTS (4-2-3-1): Gordon 8; Atkinson 7, Moore 7, Sibbick 7, Cochrane 7; Haring 7, Woodburn 6 (Halliday 69); Mackay-Steven 5 (Simms 69), McKay 6, Ginnelly 5; Boyce 5. Subs not used: Stewart, Kingsley, Thomas, Tait. Booked: None. ROSS COUNTY (4-2-3-1): Laidlaw 7; Randall 7, Watson 7, Iacovitti 7, Vokins 7; Cancola 7, Tillson 6; Spittal 7, Callachan 7 (D Samuel 77), CharlesCook 6 (Hungbo 77); White 6 (H Paton 89). Subs not used: Munro, Sims, Burroughs, Ramsay, Drysdale, B Paton. Booked: Tillson, Callachan, Watson, Spittal. Man of the Match: Craig Gordon. Referee: Steven McLean. Attendance: 16,699.