Boss says Ross County will learn and grow from experience of playing Rangers
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MALKY Mackay believes his Ross County players will learn and grow from playing champions Rangers in front of a full house at Ibrox.
The Staggies succumbed to a 4–2 defeat on Sunday in front of almost 50,000 fans at the home of the champions who are currently four points clear at the top of the table.
The manager says playing at one of the biggest clubs in the country is why his players got into football.
Despite taking the lead after five minutes before falling 4–1 behind after 60 minutes, Mackay says his players will learn from the experience and will set them in good stead for the rest of the campaign as they look to battle against the drop.
“The young players came here and they handled the crowd, the stadium and the occasion,” said Mackay.
“You want to play in front of the biggest crowds and in front of the best teams and they will grow from this.
“They will learn from it and will need to learn from it quickly.
“We have played OK and have played reasonably well this season. But we need to make sure we cut out our errors and claw our way back, I have no doubt about that.”
Mackay felt Ross County were still in the match at half time as they were only one goal behind.
However, he was disappointed with the manner they conceded the third goal, only four minutes into the second half.
“We contained them and then at 2–1 at half time I said to the players let’s stay in this game because anything can and will happen,” said Mackay.
“So I am disappointed with the third goal as it takes one moment for somebody to switch off and not go with the runner. The fourth one I will accept that there was nothing that could be done about that.
“But I am proud of them that they kept going and they tried to play, they kept switched on and they tried to find gaps.”
Speaking about the Rangers result, Mackay said: ”We are one of three clubs who have scored twice against them this season.
“But I am frustrated with the goals we lost and I am aware of how good this team are. Any given day, it could be six or seven and they are a really good team.”
