Ross County chief executive officer Steven Ferguson initially thought award win was a joke, says first team manager Malky Mackay
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Ross County’s Steven Ferguson has been named SPFL chief executive of the year at the prestigious Football Business Awards – even if the man himself did not believe it at first.
Voted on by his counterparts across the SPFL, Ferguson will now go up against winners from across the English football pyramid for the UK prize.
Staggies manager Malky Mackay and secretary Fiona MacBean broke the news to Ferguson earlier this week, and the former is sure the chief executive thought he was joking.
“I’m absolutely delighted for him – it’s a big UK-wide accolade,” Mackay reasoned.
“He didn’t quite believe it and that typifies the man. He’s not flash or someone who wants to garner the headlines, but he quietly is the heartbeat of this club.
“I speak to him every day and we’re very aligned in terms of our thoughts on football and our values on how a football club should be, how people should act for our club and how we’re represented in the community.
“The club runs through Steven’s veins.
“I am delighted my working relationship is with someone like Steven. I’ve had a varying degree of experiences with chief executives – some good, some bad – and I have certainly got a diamond here.
“I think Steven did think it was a wind-up when myself and Fiona told him. It’s the measure of the man and tells you what he’s like. I am lucky to have such a good chief executive to work with.”
Ferguson’s experience as a player, coach, academy director and chief executive certainly helps him oversee the club as he has a full understanding of each department – in turn helping his relationship with Mackay.
“It helps that Steven has done my job,” Mackay said.
“You hear McDonald’s franchises making people start sweeping the car park and they work their way up, and it’s the exact same here.
“The academy role is incredibly important, considering the size of our community, so that gives you an even broader thought of it. He’s also been in my shoes and seen the situations a manager has to deal with.
“He then stepped into the chief executive role at one of the worst times that anyone has had to live through in the Covid pandemic.
“No one is happier than me he’s got this accolade because it’s not easy. Until you walk in these shoes, people don’t realise the fires he has to put out on a regular basis.
“You manage so many different stakeholders, but the club badge is at the centre of everything.”
