William Akio in line for Ross County debut as manager Malky Mackay reveals latest signing will be involved against East Fife in Dingwall as Staggies aim to top Premier Sports Cup group
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Ross County manager Malky Mackay expects the Staggies' latest signing William Akio to make his debut against East Fife on Saturday.
The South Sudanese international was confirmed as the club's 10th signing of the transfer window last Sunday on a three-year deal, joining from Canadian Premier League side Valour.
He was in attendance for County's 2–0 win away at Alloa Athletic midweek, but was not involved in the matchday squad as he made the transition to life in Dingwall.
Mackay, though, feels it will be important for Akio to get minutes on the pitch before the start of the Scottish Premiership campaign, so expects him to feature at some point this weekend.
"We'll get him involved," Mackay explained.
"He came in over the weekend, I think he had a flight from Winnipeg to Halifax, Halifax to Dublin and then Dublin to Inverness.
"We gave him a couple of days to get over the jet lag, then he went through the medical and came gently into the whole thing.
"He will absolutely be involved at the weekend. It's another young, potential talent that has come in.
"We've had a look at him over a period of time, and he's got pace and a real dynamism.
"He's another option again in that wide area with a bit of pace, so between him, Josh (Sims), Kazeem (Olaigbe) and Owura (Edwards), we have some really pacey options there. It's about who grabs the mantle and decided to take it on."
Carrying favour with County's faithful
Mackay has not ruled out further additions to his squad before the transfer window closes at the end of next month, but there is one way he hopes this summer's new recruits can emulate last season's squad.
There was a real connection between the fans at the Global Energy Stadium and the likes of Regan Charles-Cook and Joe Hungbo, who have both departed Dingwall.
It is up to the likes of Akio, Olaigbe and Edwards to capture fans' imaginations in the same way, and Mackay is confident the new batch of Staggies have all the qualities supporters will be looking for.
"I certainly hope they can have the same relationship with the supporters," he reasoned.
"What our fans saw last year was dynamism, people that can actually get bums off seats.
"I think they really enjoyed that, and I think we've got that again.
"We've got various players that could do that, and that being the case I don't think it's a hard thing for our players to have a good relationship with the fans.
"They're really welcoming people, and I think they appreciate players working hard.
"When they see that, and then they see us really going at teams in attacking areas, it's something that our fans are really pleased about."
