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Ross County boss Malky Mackay says Kilmarnock counterpart Derek McInnes has lived up to managerial potential he saw on UEFA Pro Licence course

Kilmarnock boss Derek McInnes.
Kilmarnock boss Derek McInnes.

Ross County manager Malky Mackay left his UEFA Pro Licence convinced Derek McInnes would become a managerial success.

It therefore comes as no surprise to Mackay that his Kilmarnock counterpart has built such a strong standing in the dugout.

Mackay came up against McInnes several times as a player on both sides of the border, during his spells with Queen’s Park, Celtic and Norwich City.

During those periods, McInnes had stints with Morton, Rangers and West Brom respectively.

The pair will face each other in the dugout for the first time, when Killie make the trip to Victoria Park on Saturday.

Mackay has seen McInnes in action at close quarters however, having both completed their Pro Licence on the same course numerous years ago.

Ross County boss Malky Mackay.

The Staggies boss says he instantly saw big managerial potential in McInnes, who had a successful eight-year stint with Aberdeen prior to taking the Killie job in January.

Mackay said: “We played a few times against each other, and we were on our Pro Licence together for two years as well.

“We have known each other a long time. Even back then, when we were on our Pro Licence, he was one of the ones on my course I thought ‘you could be a manager.’

“He clearly did a terrific job over a number of years at Aberdeen.

Derek McInnes won the League Cup with Aberdeen in 2014.

“I think it’s a good decision by Kilmarnock. It has shown over a period of time that Derek is an old-fashioned manager – and I don’t say that in any thinking towards football.

“By that I mean he goes into a club and he knows how to build it.

“You can clearly see over a period of years, Stewart Milne said ‘there you go’ and you can see how well that club was structured during his period there.

“It looks as though Billy Bowie is going to allow him to do the same down there. You’ve got someone that understands the whole area of the first team, development, sports science and medicine, the talent ID and performance analysis.

“There’s a tendency that some clubs move away from that, and move towards head coaches, with all areas of the club independently feeding into a technical board.

“He just gets how to run the whole football side of the club.”

Killie taking little time to settle back into top-flight

McInnes led Killie back to the Premiership at the first time of asking, after the Ayrshire side had suffered relegation the previous season.

Killie have taken a point from their opening three matches, with their last two defeats coming against Rangers and Celtic.

Mackay feels Killie are a newly-promoted club only by name, with the Rugby Park side having spent 28 years in the top-flight before suffering the drop.

Mackay added: “I’m expecting nothing other than a really tough game.

“You can dispel their game last weekend. I was there, I went down to Kilmarnock to have a look at their team against Celtic.

“That was always going to be a tough one for them, but they’ve got a really good manager.

“He’s gone to Kilmarnock and immediately got them promoted again.

“In all respects, they look like a Premiership club. You can see that with the stadium, their attendance, the atmosphere, and the way the club is run.

“I know Billy Bowie and what he’s trying to do, and Derek is trying to make them tough and organised, so I know that’s what’s coming up to face us.

“They’re a team that have regularly been in the Premiership, so why should they not have the same ambition as the likes of Motherwell, Dundee United and ourselves from last year?”

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