Malky Mackay has high hopes that young prospects at Ross County can break into first team picture
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Malky Mackay has no doubts that some of the brightest young talents that Ross County currently have will go on to play first team football for the club.
Many of them have been training with the senior squad throughout pre-season due to the lack of numbers available to Mackay, giving him the chance to see how good they are up close.
Three players, Logan Ross, Ben Williamson and Matthew Wright, have gone on loan to Lossiemouth, Nairn County and Brora Rangers respectively, while the likes of Ryan MacLeman featured in the pre-season friendly at Elgin and the League Cup group win over Montrose after signing his first professional contract.
Last season also saw Josh Reid establish himself as the side's first choice left back, earning him a move to Coventry City in January, as well as a senior debut for Adam MacKinnon.
This summer has seen a reset at the club from top to bottom, with part of the idea behind appointing Mackay to overhaul the entire structure in Dingwall to set them up in the best way going forward.
That includes youth development, so although that is not part of Mackay's day-to-day remit it is something he is paying attention to – but he says there are already players nearing the first team picture who have the potential to reach that calibre and follow in the footsteps of his assistant manager, Don Cowie.
"I promise I will do everything in my power 24 hours a day to make a success at this football club, there will be no lack of effort," Mackay insisted.
"It has been a very testing time in terms of the huge changeover – 15 players out and whatever we can get in. It's unprecedented. This transfer window was always going to be bumpy and you throw in the Covid factor and that's why I'm looking over to the Cromarty Firth for it to hit this stadium. It's about the only thing that's not happened.
"Because of the nature of how few players we had in the first few weeks, these young lads had to train with us, to go in with the men right away. I have seen it in the first six or seven weeks where they have actually had to adapt. It's sink or swim. They have been thrown in and you can see how they do, and we now take them out of that and look after them.
"We have got really good people at this club. There is a culture growing in terms of a togetherness between our office staff, our football staff and the players. I've tasted that a few times in my career, and usually when you taste it it's because good things happen.
"We have good people here trying to mould a group here in the image of our fans to make sure we have a team that will run hard, are athletic and powerful, and we'll make sure that we will soon make it difficult for teams and cause them problems. It will be a slow build but when we get there, we will have solid foundations.
"I am so conscious that we do get a couple of the kids from the Ross County Academy into our first-team eventually. We have four or five there and I'd be surprised if two or three don't eventually pull on the Ross County jersey in two years' time as top young players who will be sold on from here and have top, top careers like Don Cowie. I genuinely mean that.
"We definitely have kids here who will play in our first-team. That's something our fans will see at some point. I have faith in them as well because you love your own. If there's a couple of Highlanders in the team, all well and good, but that will be something that happens in time."
