Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Malky Mackay looking for Ross County to make most of Edinburgh training camp

Ross County manager Malky Mackay
Ross County manager Malky Mackay

Ross County manager Malky Mackay wants his players to embrace fresh surroundings during their winter training camp in Edinburgh.

The Staggies have travelled to the capital, where they are training at the Oriam performance centre for the rest of this week.

County will then report back to Dingwall next week, ahead of their return to Premiership action at home to Motherwell on January 18.

Having given his players leave over the festive period following the 2-1 loss to Hearts on December 26, Mackay hopes a different environment can be beneficial.

In an interview with Ross County TV, Mackay said: “I think it’s important we had the opportunity to train inside this week. It’s very cold at the moment, the pitches are frozen and it’s great we have the facility here.

“Ross Campbell and Oriam have been terrific in allowing us the pitch for the three days.

“It gives the players a little bit of change of scenery, training times and intensity. There’s a relaxed air around the hotel, allowing them to kick about in their casual clothes.

“There has been some swimming and walks. It’s important to give them a mindset change, but at the same time still get the training in.”

County’s players have enjoyed team bonding exercises during their time away from the training pitch, with the squad taking part in a go-karting competition on Wednesday.

Mackay hopes his squad can gain as much from their downtime as their physical sessions.

He added: “It allows us to get a good chat with them in a different environment. Some of them go out for a walk or a coffee and they get to know each other even more.

“I get the chance to sit and have a chat with a couple of them, to see how they are feeling and how they are getting on.

“Having been away with their families over Christmas and New Year, they are ready to get back into it now.

“This week is really about enjoying themselves. We are putting the important training sessions in, but it’s about being around each other as well.”

Staggies boss keen to strike right bond with players

Mackay has overseen a fine run of form in recent weeks, which has helped the Staggies move off the bottom of the Premiership and into 10th place.

The County boss is aiming to strengthen the connection between his staff and the playing squad during the break.

He added: “It becomes part of what you would call the culture of a club.

“There are certain expectations I’ve got on them when they come into the club. I try to bring in good people, and good people will embrace situations like that.

“They want to keep working hard for each other. They take that on to the pitch, but we need to make sure there’s that little bit of understanding off the pitch.

“The communication between the staff and the players is important, that relationship is key to see the staff would do anything for the players at this club. That is returned in good faith.”