Mackay still hopeful White can make game

MALKY MACKAY is still holding out hope that striker Jordan White can make tomorrow’s Premiership play-off first leg at Firhill.

The Ross County manager winced at the extent of the head wound suffered by his influential frontman in Sunday’s costly defeat to Kilmarnock, with the depth of the gash not one for the faint-hearted.

With County now facing a 180-minute scrap for top-flight survival, though, Mackay indicated that the 11-goal club top scorer was keen to play and would be given every chance.

The Staggies boss, who had already lost Eammon Brophy at a crucial time in the season, said: “Jordan has a really dreadful cut in his head.

“It hasn’t been good, but we will see where we are with that.

“Jordan is desperate to play but it is one of the worst cuts I have seen in a long while, in terms of two players clashing heads - in terms of how big the cut is and how long it bled.

“It has been well attended to and we will be dealing with that over the next couple of days because it is not cut and dried. “He got a lot of stitches.” White, sometimes criticised from outwith the club for a modest goal return, is viewed by Mackay as integral to his team.

The manager stressed: “He has been someone who has trained every day for me since the day I came here.

“It is quite remarkable.

“I would be very surprised if he has missed a game for us this season.

“He has also been incredibly consistent in terms of being able to put himself out there, despite the physicality of his game and the way people play against him.”