Rangers loan star credits Ross County manager for quick impact
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Stephen Kelly has credited John Hughes with playing a huge role in helping Ross County out of relegation danger this season.
The former Hibernian boss took charge of the Dingwall outfit in December when they were sitting bottom of the Premiership.
Eight wins from County’s 20 league games under Hughes, though, saw them rise out of not just the automatic relegation place, but also clear of the play-off spot.
As the North Star went to press, Hughes’ own future was unclear – he was due for talks with chairman Roy MacGregor earlier in the week as his contract expired at the end of the season – but Kelly says he has made a big impact in keeping the Staggies in the top flight for another year.
“When he came in, we were bottom, so he’s just lifted the mood right away and got everybody on side,” Kelly explained.
“He obviously is a bit crazy, but that helps everybody – we all get a laugh.
“He has definitely helped us.”
There have been times it was tough for Hughes to do much work on the training ground to improve his new squad.
Early in his tenure he was faced with frozen pitches and a hectic run of games, and it was perhaps noticeable that when he had more time to work on tactics in the split, County claimed 10 points out of 15.
From day one though, Hughes spoke of the importance of the personal side of management to make his players believe.
That definitely caught the attention of loanee Kelly, whose only other season in senior football before this one came at Ayr United under the similarly passionate Ian McCall.
“Ever since he came in, he has been speaking to everyone and making sure that they’re involved,” Kelly said.
“I’ve only been in the game for two years, so I’ve been coming in not knowing what I’m going to get every day.
“Every day is a different laugh, so in that sense it has been brilliant.
“His ideas, the way he wants to play the game, is something I really like as well. That has been difficult with the position we’ve found ourselves in, but it has been great working under him.”
