Malky Mackay is determined to reward the loyalty of Ross County’s supporters in the Staggies’ battle for Premiership survival.
County occupy bottom spot in the table with four games remaining, however they have the opportunity to leapfrog Dundee United with a victory at Tannadice on Saturday.
After guiding the Staggies to a top-six finish last season, Mackay has endured a difficult second campaign in charge at Victoria Park.
Mackay says his players will be doing their all to prolong the Dingwall outfit’s top-flight future in the coming weeks.
He said: “I can only say that from the day I have arrived here, our fans have been very welcoming to me.
“They didn’t need to be, but hopefully from quite early on they saw a work ethic about the Ross County jersey.
“I wanted the team to sweat for them, and make sure they worked hard if they were going to wear a Ross County jersey.
“I’m due every bit of criticism they want to give. They sit and pay their money, and come to see their team as they have done for years.
“It’s their club, and they are custodians of it. Over the piece they have been very fair and I genuinely love when we play here.
“I think the fans start to get excited about certain things. They see these guys up here having a real go for us, and they take to that.”
Mackay eager to give Staggies fans reason to celebrate at Tannadice
Given the high stakes attached to this weekend’s match against United, Mackay would love nothing more than to send the Staggies’ supporters home happy from Tayside.
He added: “I’m conscious going down to Tannadice this weekend, that I don’t think a lot of people quite register just how far our fans have to travel – especially the midweek games.
“They can be getting home at 2am in the morning, and getting up at 7.30am for their work.
“It’s why I’m very respectful of whoever comes to watch us play. Number one, in this day and age, money is short in this world.
“Number two, when they come that far I want them to get a moment of respect from our players – no matter what we go over and see them and make sure they thank them for coming.
“We all know what the real world is like, and what the cost is to watch their team.
“It makes me even more delighted when we do manage to go away from home and get results.”
Fans have embraced return from closed-door fixtures
Mackay, who joined County in summer 2021, believes the impact of supporters has been welcomed even more warmly in the last two years, following a lengthy period of matches being played behind closed doors during the Covid pandemic.
He added: “It was so difficult. I came in at the tail end of Covid, and then at Christmas time we went to no fans again down at Tynecastle and the stadium was deathly quiet – it was dreadful.
“Football clubs all over the country have probably lost fans through a number of factors.
“I think when we start to see good games, people are starting to see the attraction in coming back to it again. It has happened slowly, and people’s confidence to get back out there in life is happening again slowly.
“You only have to look at the last few nights, with the play-off games in the Championship, and how exciting they were.
“You see how exciting this end of the season is in the Premiership as well. People are starting to come back to football again.”
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