Mackay: Thumbs up from old friend Bren will drive a new deal
to face – to try to spot them – but Myles did very well against Aberdeen last week.
“His positioning at set-pieces was good too and he had extra responsibility at corners.
“But he likes to receive more, to learn more. He is committed and focused and I like that.
“There are good young players at the club but we will always keep looking to find others.
“We felt some age groups of players here have a lot of quality but we need players who are interesting at all levels. So we need a process to bring others over.
“After this weekend two youth players who are performing well will go with the first team for experience.
“They will be having lunch, watching the meeting and seeing the work we do. It is part of the learning process.
“But it also depends on the quality of the player.” Malky Mackay believes Brendan Rodgers’ decision to commit to Celtic for four more years will be a huge help in trying to change the landscape of Scottish football.
The SFA’s performance director and the Hoops boss have been close pals since teaming up at Watford nearly nine years ago.
And Mackay believes he has a kindred spirit in the battle to implement Project Brave after Rodgers signed a new deal.
Speaking at the unveiling of Shelley Kerr as Scotland women’s head coach, Mackay said: “It’s a hugely important thing, him committing long term.
“People are going to listen when Brendan speaks, Gordon Strachan speaks, Derek McInnes speaks, Pedro Caixinha speaks, Craig Levein speaks – the top people in the country speak – Shelley speaks.
“That helps my job because they are the people leading the top clubs and kids think, ‘If I do that then I have a chance of getting to the top.’ And Brendan has this aura about him. It is imprinted all over the club right now – his manner, the way he is with people.
“You’ve seen the impact on the team but the impact on staff and fans is probably just as big. He certainly has 20-odd thousand more people coming to games.
“He is also working hard on legacies, sitting down with Dermot Desmond and speaking about improving the training facility and structures.”
Rodgers has offered Mackay strong backing, first in the race to land the role and then in his bid to get clubs onside. It’s a mutual respect that goes back to Vicarage Road as Mackay added: “Brendan came in when I was caretaker after Aidy Boothroyd had left and could quite easily have got rid of me.
“But he didn’t – he kept me on and then over a period trust builds. You earn that. I could see what kind of manager he was.
“We had similar thoughts on football, values and ideas of how we think a club should be run. Over the years we have kept in contact.
“And he has been responsive to the changes we’re trying to make. Everyone has to be fair.
“The document went out and I don’t think there was too much railing against it from the media or anyone else. Clubs have been involved in the working group as well but in general there is a feeling throughout the country we have to improve.
“How are we going to do that? Where are the problems? And everybody is highly focused.
“Everything is on the table. No one is saying, ‘Hold on, we haven’t mentioned this or that.’ We have to try to cast the net wider to get more quality through.
“We have to give Gordon and Shelley the best chance possible with the biggest number of players. And progress is being made.
“The only problem is I want it all done yesterday. I have plenty of ideas and I want to push them all. But it is not like anyone is saying, ‘No, you can’t do that’ – it just takes time and that can be frustrating.”