Malky Mackay wants Ross County’s creative players to take a cue from Matt O’Riley of the Celtics, who displayed composure in the face of intense heat during a Champions League match against Atletico Madrid.
The Dingwall club has only scored three goals in their last seven games; they are too often lacking in the decisive pass and game-winning touch. On Tuesday night, they were held scoreless at Dundee.
Aside from the contentious VAR-disallowed goal, Mackay acknowledges he is struggling to strike a balance between attack and defense, a perennial managerial challenge.
However, he believed that O’Riley’s flawlessly timed assist for Kyogo Furuhashi’s game-opening goal against the Spaniards encapsulated everything he wanted to say to his progressive players.
“In the end, it’s the little things,” Mackay remarked.
We discuss things like heads in fridges and people on fire. They must maintain their composure and make their final action their best or most crucial one.
“The weight of a pass, sliding someone in, might often be all that matters. If you’re eager, you might overkick it or strike the defender with it.
However, if you slip it in correctly, they go ahead and place it in the net.
“I saw Celtic play Atletico Madrid, and they were incredible.”
“Kyogo’s pass from Matt O’Riley is incredibly composed. He was able to place it in the player’s route despite the fact that there is fire shooting everywhere.
“Will you please ensure that your final action is the best one you can do?”
Mackay remembers having a lengthy discussion about the challenge of striking the correct balance between attacking inclinations and defensive resoluteness with former Blackpool and Crystal Palace manager Ian Holloway.
“A manager must always strike a balance between attacking and defending, or how much to err on the side of caution and how much to remain conservative,” he said.
All managers need to make an effort to maintain equilibrium.
“I had a conversation with Ian Holloway a long time ago regarding Blackpool’s initial Premier League entry.
They were really thrilling and daring. Due to the fact that they were playing against excellent teams that could catch them on the break more effectively than they could flood the court, they were losing games 5–4.
“In reality, the talk took place after he visited Crystal Palace following his stay at Blackpool.
He then made an effort to reconsider their Premier League status. It was about being more cautious, but they reached a point where they were helpless to score.
He faced this problem, but we are all the same.
“You only need one opportunity if you maintain a clean slate. That also cultivates confidence.
“Aside from those careless individual mistakes, your squad is formidable.
“That was necessary (against Dundee). We had just returned from a disappointing defeat at Pittodrie.
“In the last three years, there have been just a few games where we have truly not attended the races, and it was one of them.
“I told them that we would have lost that game on Tuesday, but we didn’t in the past.”
