Malky Mackay insists the pressure of keeping Ross County in the Premiership will not distract him from the task at hand.
County are bottom of the table with five games remaining, starting with Saturday’s visit of Livingston.
The Staggies are four points adrift of both Kilmarnock and Dundee United, meaning they urgently need to claw back ground.
Having experienced numerous highs and lows throughout his playing and management career, Mackay insists he is remaining focused on the objective.
He said: “I have a complete understanding of the situation we’re in, so I have to show that respect for our football club and our fans.
“After that, I have experience of being in those situations before – whether that’s a relegation battle at Watford, or being half an hour away from administration at a football club I’m at.
“Whether it’s losing a play-off final in a penalty shoot-out, winning play-off finals, picking a team against Liverpool in a Carling Cup final and going to a penalty shoot-out there. There was also winning promotion, not getting into play-offs or dealing with expectations of winning promotion.
“People sometimes ask how you handle it when you go out in front of 50,000 fans, or however many it may be, and you just get used to it.
“You’ve got to make sure you focus on what you’re doing rather than what’s around you, and it’s not any different as a manager.
“You focus on what you’ve got to do.
“I’ve never been someone who’s gone too high, or too low – and I’ve had plenty of lows and a couple of highs.
“You’re never as good as people say in those highs, and when the lows happen you take the same balanced view. The situation is never as bad as some people say.”
Mackay looking to portray calmness in wake of Hearts defeat
County suffered a humiliating 6-1 loss to Hearts at Tynecastle in their last outing nearly a fortnight ago.
Mackay insists he made a conscious effort not to blast his players in the aftermath of the game, as he aims to keep them in the right mindframe for the defining final five matches.
He added: “The main thing is to stay calm. I think that’s what leadership is about.
“You have to make sure people around you have a clear, consistent message, and they’re getting clear communication and a bit of calmness from the leader.
“I think that’s the best way of doing it.
“For example, going back into the dressing room after the Hearts game, there were various ways I could have gone about that.
“I could have gone in screaming and shouting, or I could have gone in and been cutting and sarcastic before walking out. I don’t think either one in that situation were the way forward.
“After the game I went in and spoke to them in a considered manner, and then it was about planing for the next two weeks to pick everybody back up.
“These things happen, but they don’t happen very often.
“We have to make sure we have the pride in the jersey to go and make up for that to our fans, to the club and to themselves in our next game.”
Experienced players vital for Staggies
Mackay says the seasoned campaigners within his squad have a crucial role to play in the coming weeks, adding: “It’s where experienced players come to the fore.
“It’s about handling pressure situations – whether that be promotion or relegation, a cup semi-final or final, a penalty shoot-out, whatever it may be.
“Those are all pressure situations, and certainly from a personal point of view, the longer you’re in it and the more you experience these things as a player or a manager, the more you reflect on them the more you learn and the more you realise how to handle them again.”
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