Malky has gone but our kids look the real Mackay
Buried within Malky Mackay’s statement after his exit from the SFA earlier this week were words which rang true.
It’s easy to look at the departing performance director and pick holes in some of the corporate garble of ‘best practice’ and ‘talent ID’ which the game now excels in.
But on this occasion, there were statements embedded within his leaving speech which, on closer analysis, deserve credit where credit’s due.
The pity is that Mackay picked the moment to end his four-year spell at Hampden on the back of Scotland Under-21s’ latest failure to qualify for the European Championship.
To the untrained eye, it would be just a case of the same old story at that level given it’s a quarter of a century since we had achieved the feat.
Scot Gemmill’s side couldn’t get the win they needed in Greece, again.
It’s convenient just to turn the page on that near miss and move on. But Malky can look back on his time as being part of a journey which leaves our grassroots development in a far better place than it was in when he replaced Brian McClair.
He talks about players now being equipped with a confidence and a game appreciation which our current crop of young players display – and having witnessed Gemmill’s boys in action over the last few months, it’s hard to argue with his belief.
A stye of play has been developed and anyone who watched them against Croatia and the Czech Republic in recent weeks would have been impressed with a side which refused to buckle due to sticking to the plan.
It should also be noted that Mackay spent both of those matches shuttling across the Tynecastle main stand barking out instructions to the players.
A manic bundle of enthusiasm and energy and what a sight it was to see the passion bursting from him for his country to succeed.
Leaving his post will not come without pangs of regret but it also leaves the SFA with a gaping void that needs filled.
Mackay harnessed the development programme together and, cost cuts or no cost cuts, he will have to be replaced.
That loss in Greece shouldn’t detract from the undeniable fact that there is a generation of players now emerging of a quality which hasn’t been there over the last two decades or more.
The disappointment which was etched on Gemmill’s face minutes after going down in Athens was of a man who knew that this group of players deserved the chance to display their talents on a bigger stage.
He will also have some soul searching of his own to do as the question remains as to whether it’s time for someone of his exceptional coaching quality to take his talents into the club game.
There’s also the question of when and where that particular opportunity will knock.
So Mackay’s departure leaves the SFA coaching department at a crossroads and the pedal has to be pushed down on the progress which has been made.
The outgoing Mackay can be proud of the direction we appear to be heading in and he’s correct to talk up the need for a united front.
He said: “I believe significant progress has been made during my tenure. Collaboration at its best is a powerful force for good in the Scottish game,”
Big decisions lie ahead and the current pathways must be retained.