Nairn County player-manager Steven Mackay will stand down at the end of the season.
Mackay, who lifted the North of Scotland Cup with the Wee County earlier this season, took over at Station Park in October 2022 and will lead Nairn to a top-half Breedon Highland League finish as their campaign concludes away to Huntly on Saturday.
The 42-year-old tasted Highland League success with Brora Rangers as a player and manager, winning the title on four occasions, as well as winning the Highland League Cup in 2011 during an earlier stint as a player with Nairn.
“It has been a great honour for me to manage the club over the last 18 months,” he told the Nairn County website.
“Winning the North of Scotland Cup this season was a real highlight and it was great to put smiles on the faces of so many people behind the scenes at the club and the supporters.
“It is a great club and I am sure with the squad and the board that is in place, it will continue to make progress over the coming seasons.
“I would like to take the opportunity to thank the chairman Mark Kelman, the management committee, my assistant David Hind, first-team coach Brian Macleod, director of football Graeme Macleod, plus all of the players who have worked under me and the fans for the excellent support I have received during my time as manager of the club.
“I wish Nairn County the very best of luck for the future.”
Mackay succeeded Ronnie Sharp in the role and in February 2023, became the first Nairn player to score in four different decades for the club.
Chairman Kelman said: “After discussions with the management committee, we came to the mutual agreement that Steven would stand down from his position at the end of the season.
“I would like to thank Steven for all of the excellent work he has done while manager of the club. There is no doubt that we have taken significant strides forward during his tenure and we hope to be able to see the legacy of his hard work across future seasons.
“Bringing silverware back to Station Park with our North of Scotland Cup success in November was a significant milestone and Steven deserves enormous credit for achieving that in such a short timeframe from when he took on the job.
“We all appreciate the significant amount of time and effort Steven dedicated to the job during his time with us and we would like to wish him all the best for his future endeavours.
“The process of identifying the new manager of Nairn County has already commenced.”
Conversation