Former Caley Thistle number two Maurice Malpas says joint-club record-scorer Billy Mckay has reached the top of the all-time charts by grafting for every goal he has netted.
The Inverness striker has now matched the tally of 101 goals set by legendary finisher Dennis Wyness 16 years ago.
Mckay, 34, who is now in his third spell at the Caledonian Stadium, scored a double in the 3-0 Scottish Cup semi-final win against Falkirk in April to take him to 100 ICT goals overall – netting 19 goals in total last term.
And his goal in the 2-1 Viaplay Cup defeat at Dumbarton on Tuesday took him to that magical record-matching number, which he will have the chance to surpass on Tuesday when Airdrieonians come calling, also for a League Cup group game.
Mckay was signed by ICT manager Terry Butcher when Malpas was his assistant in the summer of 2011.
Malpas explained why he thinks Mckay has stayed a class act, 12 years on from making the move from Northampton Town to the Highlands.
He said: “If you get the ball into the box, Billy’s not afraid to miss chances before he scores them.
“He was on fire when we were at Inverness, and he deserves all the praise he gets.
“Even when he is playing poorly, he works hard to create his own chances.
“He isn’t an out-and-out poacher, who stands back to wait for the rest of the team to create his chances.”
🗣️ "My next target now is to go and beat it"
Billy Mckay on equaling the ICTFC all time top goalscoring record tonight
Full Interview 👉 https://t.co/pR0BZZPwxb pic.twitter.com/5OY3u0ZG9g
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) July 18, 2023
Mckay followed Rooney’s ICT route
As can often happen when players in their early 20s make the move from England to the north of Scotland, it took Mckay a little time to find his scoring touch.
However, Malpas explained he was very much like another prolific scoring at Inverness: Adam Rooney.
He said: “When players move up from England, it’s a different lifestyle up in Inverness. It can take a while to settle.
“Players can work their tails off, but if they miss a few chances people start to criticise them.
“But once Billy scored, he probably scored in the next game, and he was flying.
“The same happened with Adam Rooney.
“He couldn’t get a goal then scored against Dunfermline, maybe even a ricochet off his backside, and he could not stop scoring.
“Billy Mckay was the same – he couldn’t score for a while, then he got into the habit of scoring every week.”
Mckay, who was out of contract after the Scottish Cup final defeat to Celtic in June, weighed up his options before signing a two-year deal to remain with the Highlanders as they seek to lift themselves out of the Championship for the first time since 2017.