Malky Mackay reckons his triple signing spree brings a magical mixture of experience and potential to Ross County.
The manager, whose Premiership squad are getting set for a week of training work in Verona in northern Italy, is delighted to have added three new signings before they leave Scotland.
Midfielder Yan Dhanda, 23, is a former West Brom youth, who went on to play more than 60 times for Swansea City in the English Championship, having spent five impressive years at Liverpool’s youth academy.
Canadian livewire midfielder Victor Loturi, 21, has played in the Canadian top table with Cavalry FC, while left-back George Harmon has also checked into Dingwall, having helped his last club, Oxford City, finish fifth in National League South last term.
Not only did the 21-year-old catch the eye for Oxford, he has previously stood up well to the competitive nature of Premier League 2, where he played for West Brom.
Experience gained in men’s game
Mackay will add further to his squad, with more experienced campaigners high on his list.
However, the latest arrivals at County all bring plenty to the table and will get vital bonding time with the group over in Italy.
The boss said: “Yan has had 60-odd games in the Championship in England, so we were delighted to get him.
“Victor has been playing in a reasonably young league in Canada, and I mean that in terms of how old the Canadian league is. But he’s playing against men every week and has done for two years.
“That is another league that will flourish, not quite like the MLS, but it will be a league people will be able to cherry-pick from, because it is such a huge country.
“They are also at the World Cup.
“I was delighted to get that one over the line. It’s one we’d been working on for a period of time.
“He’s played men’s football in the past two years, so I’m expecting him to come in and be ready.
“George is a player with potential and he’s got long-term ability at left-back. But, like anything, you can go in and grab your chance right away.”
Stability helped secure new faces
Mackay was just in the door last summer when he had to massively overhaul a side which just avoided the drop under previous manager John Hughes.
Many of last season’s group have committed to the club going forward, with just a few moving on after the Staggies impressively secured a top-six spot in the Premiership last term.
And Mackay explained bringing in players like Dhanda, Loturi and Harmon is the route the club – who he says are targeting “different areas and different parts of the world” – will continue to follow, while last season’s success – in terms of results and player development – was part of the Staggies’ pitch to secure the trio’s signatures.
He said: “To get a ready-made player, you have to go and buy that kind of player and that costs a few quid and that’s not something we can quite do.
“We have got to look at different areas and different parts of the world. That won’t change over a period of time.
“What will change is Enda Barron (head of analysis) has had time to settle in and we have a strong base to start with now. Last year, it was carnage.
“I have been here for a year, so it’s not like it’s a club with a new manager. Last year, we had the headline of 20 players out and a new manager in.
“We have given the new potential signings a welcome pack – what they can expect from the club and the area.
“There is a body of work there which shows how we did last year and there is evidence of some of the players who have come in and done well as well as some of the players who were already here and have gone on from here.
“All of that helps and it’s been slightly easier conversations I’ve been having this year with agents.”
Well-connected boss works wonders
Connections and contacts are crucial to Mackay and his coaching team, who he values greatly.
So, raiding Wales, England and Canada is no sweat to the former Scottish FA head of performance, and ex-boss of Watford, Cardiff and Wigan.
He added: “No matter where it is, we look to see if we know someone in that part of the world or area of England, for example. We did with these signings.
“People at Swansea, I know really well. We had someone at Cavalry, someone in Canada who is part of the Canadian Football Association. We also had someone in England, who goes to a lot of the non-league games.
“When you talk about finding out about a player’s character or personality, we can ask what they are like and that is massively important.”
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