Brora Rangers manager Steven Mackay insists the raw talent of veteran Dundee midfielder Charlie Adam was plain to see in some of his earliest senior outings.
Mackay was playing for Ross County when a teenage Adam was brought to Dingwall on loan from Rangers by then-Staggies manager Alex Smith.
Adam had only made two first team appearances for the Ibrox club prior to joining County, with a productive spell in which he netted twice in 15 appearances laying the foundations for an excellent career which saw him win 26 Scotland caps.
Adam’s most memorable moment in a Staggies jersey came when he netted from the halfway line in a 3-2 loss away to St Mirren, with Mackay insisting his ability was evident from an early stage.
Mackay said: “Alex McLeish was the Rangers manager at the time. He obviously saw something in Charlie and felt that it was right for him to go out on loan and get experience.
“He would only have been 18 or 19 at the time, but he came to us and we weren’t too sure what to expect from a young boy from Rangers.
“He was exceptional in terms of his technical ability, with an absolute wand of a left foot.
“As much as him being at County benefited us, it also benefited his career as well with regular first team football.
“He scored some memorable goals. I remember him scoring from the halfway line at St Mirren – after he had attempted it about 10 games before that but it didn’t come off.
“That was the way he played, he was always confident in his ability and would try things.
“That’s why he stood out at our level and went on to have the career he did.”
After returning to Rangers, Adam went on to enjoy success in England, with a prolific spell with Blackpool earning him a £7.5 million move to Liverpool in 2011, prior to stints with Stoke City and Reading.
With the 34-year-old returning to his hometown club Dundee earlier this summer, Mackay is looking forward to the reunion with his old team-mate in today’s Betfred Cup tie at Dudgeon Park.
Mackay added: “You always tend to follow team-mates who move on in their careers, and it was good to see him go back to Rangers and do so well there.
“He then went on to Blackpool and had big success in helping them get up to the Premier League. The free-kick he scored at Wembley was something else.
“He then went on to Liverpool, and it was great to see he fulfilled his potential to that level.”
Mackay feels today’s visit of Championship side Dundee will be another exciting test for his side, who went down bravely in a 3-1 loss to top flight side Hibernian on Wednesday.
He added: “They are a strong side and I’m sure James McPake has recruited with trying to get them back into the Premiership at the forefront of his mind.
“They have got a strong side with good experience, so it will be another great test for our boys.
“I think Wednesday night has taken a lot out of them, just the pace of the game was something they won’t have been exposed to.”