Manager says Ross County have required character in squad
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Malky Mackay has been pleased with the strength of character he has seen in the Ross County dressing room so far this season.
It is a group the former Cardiff City and Wigan Athletic boss had to put together practically from the bare bones in a hectic summer transfer window.
In a blunt assessment of the squad he filleted last summer with 16 departures, Mackay said character traits were key parts of his assessments as he made 12 new signings.
The Staggies boss said: “People can be up and down in terms of form, but application and behaviour are two things that should be a given for a top-level team.
“I will not have any lack of that at this football club, hence the decision about the people that were leaving the club. That came into it, let’s be clear about that.
“For the players that we were then trying to bring in, there were a lot of criteria involved.
“There was how we got the players financially, their personal life, whether they were good enough, or whether they were out of our reach and someone else was going to take them.
“Character is huge though. They had to be people who fitted into a group, the culture of the group we were building.
“I had time outside of football when I was on gardening leave, after being sacked.
“I had a chance to go and do things, and speak to people, various different sports and businesses, as well as the armed forces. I got a chance to talk to them about leadership, teamwork and culture. I read books about it, and I saw it in different walks of life. It’s the exact same everywhere you go.
“What breeds culture is good teamwork, leadership and various fundamentals – park your ego at the door, put your shoulder to the wheel and work for each other. That’s something I’ve been seeing recently.
“The help people are giving each other both on the pitch and in the dressing room makes a big difference, and I’m starting to see a little fire igniting. They are a group that are not willing to lie down. None of them are big time Charlies, because I’m not having that.”
Mackay feels that once those principles are established in a dressing room, it becomes self-policing.
He added: “It starts with setting out the roles and responsibilities I expect of them, and what they can expect of me.
“I breed that through the staff. I then impart that on to the players, and the ones we bring in I hope they adhere to that.
“There eventually comes a point where that’s the standard of the group. If you come in, you join that standard. If you are out there below that standard, you are out in the wilderness – on your own.
“They know my expectations and they get to a point where they know what’s right and wrong. To be fair, once you get to that point it’s then a good place to come and work.
“I can see them having confidence and growing with each other.
“I told them they wear the stag on their chest 24 hours a day. If they are going to be here, they have to represent our football club in a manner that is Ross County.”
The Staggies return to action in Dingwall on Saturday against Dundee, after last weekend’s trip to St Johnstone was postponed shortly before kick-off.
County will once again have the opportunity to move out of the relegation zone with a victory.
