Steven Mackay described his move into the assistant manager role at Elgin City as the perfect match – just two weeks after leaving Highland League champions Brora Rangers.
The two-times City striker was announced on Friday afternoon as assistant to Gavin Price and he explained it works in perfectly with his job in Fife because this won’t be an all-consuming role, like he had at Dudgeon Park.
Earlier this month, Dundee-based Keith Gibson confirmed he would be leaving as Elgin number two after several years alongside Price, with regular travel from Tayside taking its toll.
We are delighted to appoint Steven Mackay as the Clubs new Assistant Manager 🖤
Welcome to the Club Steven.
Full story can be found here https://t.co/xchei4OPEx pic.twitter.com/ouTrWtbxK6
— Elgin City F.C. (@ElginCityFC) August 20, 2021
The desire for Mackay to remain in football led to a call from Price and the deal was done to bring the 40-year-old in on a two-year-contract.
He said: “It’s a massive opportunity for me. When I left Brora, it was always with a view that I wanted to get back into football. It was never a case of me being done with football.
“I was waiting for the right opportunity to come along and I was fortunate that it did so quickly. This was too good an opportunity to turn down.
“I really enjoyed my time at Elgin and had four spells in there in total, twice when I went on loan from Ross County and then another couple of occasions under Brian Irvine and Robbie Willliamson, so I am familiar with the club and know the potential that they have.
“This is an opportunity that fits in with my working lifestyle. The reasons I gave for leaving Brora were very much weighted towards the commitment and me only being able to give so much.
“What Gavin needs me for in this role fits in perfectly with what I can actually give to the club. It’s the perfect match.
“I am still working in Dunfermline and the view is that I will take the Thursday sessions, which works out fine with Gavin. I’ll obviously be there at weekend too.
“That was effectively what I was doing at Brora, but the difference was, as manager of the club, there were so many other elements that not a lot of people see. It wasn’t just Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday – it was a Monday through Sunday job.
“I didn’t have a problem with that, but my job changed recently and it is also very demanding of my time, so I could not have football impacting work.
“With this role, I won’t have that. I will be there to support Gavin and there won’t be extra time required on it throughout the week.
“I won’t be at work and worrying about what needs done at the club. Gavin will take care of that and I will be there to support him on Thursdays and Saturdays.”
Linking up with Price for first time
Mackay, a former goal-getter for Ross County, revealed he’d never worked with Price before, but is more than happy to link up now.
He added: “Our paths never crossed. He contacted me after the announcement went out about Brora and he asked me to take time to think about it. It was still very early and the Brora factor was still very raw.
“However, I knew I didn’t want to be out of football for long and I knew it would be difficult to find a role that would suit me workwise. Things happen in football and life where timing works and this allows me to stay in football, which is what I wanted to do and the commitment is not as intense as at Brora.”
Silver linings at Brora Rangers
He led Brora to one Highland League title and a North of Scotland Cup and also was in charge when the club were granted the HFL crown last year after just three matches played due to Covid.
Mackay also guided Brora to that stunning Scottish Cup win over Hearts in March, which is one of the biggest upsets in the history of the competition.
Alongside his assistant at Brora, Craig Campbell, Mackay wanted to take the Cattachs into the SPFL, but a painful play-off defeat by Kelty Hearts, the Lowland League winners, denied them a crack at League Two.
Mackay has now got the chance to train League Two players on the next step in the ladder.
He said: “My ambition has always been to coach in the SPFL. I wanted to do it with Brora and, unfortunately, I was unable to do that. I can now do that with Elgin and I am looking forward to working with Gavin and the players.
“He has a really good squad at his disposal and it will be interesting to see what we could do together.”
Hot Hester can fire Elgin forward
A notable goalscorer for so long, Mackay admits the chance to assist League Two’s red-hot marksman Kane Hester at Elgin is another appealing factor as the club seeks to finally win promotion after back-to-back third-place finishes.
He said: “Elgin have a strong squad and, in Kane Hester, they have an exceptional striker. They have got a great chance this season.
“Ultimately, I want to help get the best out of the players and Elgin should be looking at the play-offs as a minimum. The objective is to go that one step further and get promotion via the play-offs.”