Chief executive pleads to fans to give new Ross County manager Malky Mackay a chance
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Steven Ferguson has asked Ross County fans to give Malky Mackay a chance as the club’s new manager.
Mackay’s appointment was a controversial one among the fanbase, with many holding Mackay’s previous allegations of racist, sexist and homophobic comments against him.
Those incidents came to light in 2014 after an acrimonious departure from Cardiff City.
The Staggies chief executive officer insists he was fully aware of Mackay’s history before bringing him on board, and called on County fans to give him the same kind of chance.
“We know everything about Malky and what went on in the past,” Ferguson, himself a former County manager, said.
“There are genuinely no skeletons in his cupboard on that one. He’s taken a battering and he’s still standing and still so passionate and hungry, and has a clear vision himself on what success looks like.
“We need to make sure everything ties together, whether it be talent identification, analysis, recruitment, development.
“Malky’s CV tells you that he excels in every one of those facets.
“I ask the fans to give him a chance to implement what he wants to implement and be judged on what he does at Ross County.
“That’s what we’re doing and are going to do. You can’t change the past, but you can be really positive about the future.”
After avoiding any threat of relegation on the final day of the Premiership season, County will be looking to progress up the league table under Mackay’s leadership next season.
The club recently declared the need to reassess, and begin a new era in Dingwall.
With historically established top-flight sides like Hearts and Dundee returning to the Premiership next season, that will be a tough ask, but Ferguson is confident they have the right man in charge to deliver.
“We appreciate where we are but we need a direction of travel – we believe we’ll get there with Malky driving the bus,” he said.
“You only have to look at next season’s Premiership.
“We are the small fish in the Premiership with the two Dundee clubs, the Edinburgh clubs, Rangers and Celtic, St Johnstone winning two cups.
“It’s a very, very tough league and for Ross County to compete at that level, we need to think smart and have plans and procedures that make us able to compete and hold our own against bigger clubs with bigger budgets.”
