Ross County’s trip to Pittodrie on Sunday will bring back fond memories for Staggies boss Malky Mackay.
Following the departure of Scotland manager Gordon Strachan in 2017, Mackay took interim charge of the national team for a friendly against Holland in the Granite City later that year.
The match, which Scotland lost 1-0, came during Mackay’s four-year tenure as Scottish FA performance director, before Alex McLeish was appointed as permanent manager the following year.
Although it proved to be his only game in charge, the thrill of leading out his national team will never be lost on Mackay as he prepares to take on an Aberdeen side still smarting from their Europa Conference League exit to Qarabag FK on Thursday.
Mackay said: “It was one of the proudest moments of my career to be asked to manage the national team.
“At Pittodrie that night, against real good opposition, I enjoyed the way the Aberdeen fans embraced the national team and the welcome they gave me, considering it was an interim job, for one game.
“They treated me really well.
“They are a good football club, one I’ve always enjoyed and in my time at the SFA I was involved with them a lot.
“Steven Gunn, the director of football, Derek McInnes, Stewart Milne and Neil Simpson are people that I was involved with. Latterly, I had a couple of meetings with Dave Cormack as well.
“A few months ago, I bumped into Stephen Glass and had a chat with him. They are a good club in this country.
“I obviously remember playing there with Celtic and there was always a fabulous atmosphere.
“I’ve no doubt at the weekend it will be the same.
“It is another top club to go and test ourselves against and I hope there is a good crowd.”
Sunday’s match continues a difficult run of opening fixtures for the Staggies, who will travel to Celtic after the upcoming international break.
Mackay is refusing to look for excuses however, highlighting last weekend’s display in the 4-2 defeat to champions Rangers as a reason for encouragement.
He added: “It’s a new-look Aberdeen we’re facing so that’s going to be another hard one for us.
“We knew we’d be playing the top teams through the first games of the season, but that’s the league – you have to get on with it.
“After that comes a run of games where teams are probably more around about us, and by that time we’ll have more players in the door who will have got to know each other a bit better.
“We saw on Saturday against Rangers, it wasn’t as if there was an unbelievable gulf between the two teams.
“We play every team on its merits. We aim for three points in every game we’ve got.
“We know we’ve got a tough start against the teams that finished last year in the top five spots in the league.
“But on Sunday we saw it was a competitive game, just as Pittodrie will be.”
County will be without injured full backs Jake Vokins and Jack Burroughs.