Goalkeeper Cammy Mackay has announced he is leaving Caley Thistle – after spending 19 years at his hometown club.
And the 27-year-old spelled out exactly what it meant to him to pull on the Inverness gloves, albeit not nearly as much as he’d have liked.
Part of the squad which lifted the Scottish Cup under John Hughes in 2015, the shot-stopper says now is the time to chase competitive action.
He played 38 times for the first-team and relished being part of a club competing inside the top two divisions of Scottish football.
With his contract expiring within days, Mackay has opted to look elsewhere for competitive action, but stressed it has nothing to do with the Kelty Hearts training move.
‘Club always came first for me’
Mackay said: “As a boy from Inverness, all I ever wanted was to play for Caley Thistle, my local team.
“If someone had told me when I was nine or 10 that I’d be playing for Caley Thistle – even just once – I’d have bitten their hands off. It was all I ever wanted. That never changed.
“It was disappointing not to have played more for the club, but I walk away knowing I gave my all. I was always available for training and always available for games. I never threw in the towel.
“The club always came first for me – whether I was playing or not. And I mean that. I’d rather not play a single league game for Inverness but share the experience of the team absolutely flying.
“As long as the team were okay, getting results and pushing for promotion, that was fine. As long as I was involved, that’s what I cared about from whatever age.
“I haven’t just played for the club. I am, and always have been, a supporter. My parents have always been season-ticket holders.”
Debut v Celtic and Scottish Cup triumph all within six days
Breaking into Duncan Shearer’s under-20s side as a rising talent was a proud moment as was making his first ICT start against Dundee United in the League Cup under Richie Foran (in a 1-1 draw in July 2016).
Nothing can match the feeling of being part of the Caley Thistle squad which won the Scottish Cup, seeing off Celtic in the semis and Falkirk in the final nine years ago.
He said: “Six days before the Scottish Cup final, I made my debut (as a sub at 3-0 down) at Parkhead (in a 5-0 defeat) and the week ended by lifting the cup – you don’t get much higher than that.
“Being part of the Scottish Cup squad was incredible. What a team to be a part of.
“We had fantastic players and I learned so much during six months of training and being involved with that first-team under John Hughes.
“Looking back, maybe I could have kicked on and pushed to go on loan. But I still wouldn’t change or trade being part of that.”
Started as a young outfield player
Mackay’s first taste of being in a Caley Jags environment was as an eight-year-old kid at the city’s Cradlehall Primary.
He said: “I went along for the October ‘Hot Shots’ coaching sessions. Me and my pals all signed up for it.
“I then came all the way through the age groups. I had two years at under-17s and three years at the under-20s.
“I actually signed as an outfield player. At eight or nine-years-old, you never really played games as such. You would mainly just train.
“When I was about 10, they were looking for a keeper and I can’t even recall how it came about, but I ended up in goals for a couple of games and the coaches asked me to stay there.
“At first, I wasn’t too keen, so my career could have been over a lot different.”