Ross County have cancelled a planned January training camp in Spain and will instead spend time in Edinburgh next week.
The Premiership winter break is now under way after clubs agreed it should be brought forward by a week.
It was a reaction to the Scottish government’s restrictions aimed at limiting the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid, with grounds limited to crowds of 500 since Boxing Day.
Mackay revealed the Staggies had planned to travel to Spain for a January training camp during the winter break, which they have been forced to shelve.
The County boss will now take his squad to the Oriam performance centre in Edinburgh next week, as part of their preparation for the return to action at home to Motherwell on January 18.
Mackay said: “We are going to Edinburgh, but remember we are three hours north.
“It’s like the best laid plans. We were supposed to go to Spain for a week. I had the training camp lined up, it looked terrific and everything was fine.
“Then all this happened and all the Premiership chairmen decided to cancel the trips.
“That was the first thing and then the next thing was all the dates got moved.
“There were players who had time off and were going away to Tenerife or Spain or wherever – they had to cancel that – so it’s fluid.
“As soon as the league said Sunday’s game would happen and the next two wouldn’t, everyone decided to give them this week off with their families.
“Next week we’ll do something. I spoke to people at Oriam and at the hotel I know, and we have Oriam for three or four days.
“We have a hotel booked and we’ll give them a few days kicking about Edinburgh.
“There is still another 10 days before our next game after that, so we’ll go back up the road and do our serious work.
“Hopefully by that time the pitches are thawed and the snow has gone.”
Omicron variant bringing clubs into uncharted territory
County face a busy schedule when they return to action, with seven matches in 22 days.
With a number of clubs having experienced Covid issues prior to the break, Mackay expects there could be further disruption in the weeks ahead.
He added: “I think every club in the top division, when you saw that late November to now, plus those two games that didn’t happen, thought: ‘wow’.
“It will be the exact same again when we come back right through to the split, there isn’t a free midweek.
“It will test everyone again and then you throw this new strain of Covid into the situation and it’s going to be an interesting time for everyone.
“We’re probably in even more uncharted territory in terms of the disease.”
County played their final game of 2021 behind closed doors, when they went down 2-1 defeat to Hearts at Tynecastle on Boxing Day.
Mackay believes empty grounds could still be a common occurrence, even when the top-flight campaign resumes.
He added: “It looks like we’re back into empty stadiums again, which is a blow.
“Tynecastle is a great place to play at when it is full. I took the (Scotland) under-21s there regularly and it’s a fantastic stadium, good people run it.
“I was looking forward to going there with 18,000 to 20,000 people.
“Even at our place over the last couple of weeks, the atmosphere at the Celtic game was fantastic.
“I get it, I understand it.
“I’m not sure in two or three weeks’ time the First Minister is going to let everyone back into stadiums again.”
