Malky Mackay invokes memories of Ross County's League Cup win in 2015 to try and inspire current crop of Staggies victory against Celtic in Dingwall with place in Premier Sports Cup quarter final at stake
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Malky Mackay says Ross County have every reason to believe they can get past Celtic in the Premier Sports Cup second round tomorrow night.
Two out of the last three times the Glasgow giants have visited Dingwall, the game went right down to the wire.
Last season it took a 97th minute winner from Anthony Ralston to deny the Staggies a result, and just a couple of weeks ago in the Premiership the score was 1–1 with less than five minutes remaining.
Less then two years ago under former manager Stuart Kettlewell, County even knocked Celtic out of the same competition in Glasgow, so Mackay intends on taking the game to his former side.
"It's not an impossible task, because Ross County have won the League Cup in this country in the last decade," he reasoned.
"We have a great picture from that day, and I smile every time I walk by it.
"We're not talking about the 1800s, and the games here against Celtic have been good games – we took one to the 97th minute last year, and we took one until the last four minutes this year.
"I know exactly what we're coming up against. Undoubtedly people are going to want to talk about last Sunday, but we played them two weeks ago, so I know we're going up against a good team.
"We've lain gloves on these teams before. There are times you have to hang in the game, but if you do what happened in the last game where we got back in it can happen.
"We know the quality we will be playing against, but I'm really buoyed by my own team's will to want to take these teams on and not just sit in, but actually go and find way of trying to hurt the opposition as well."
Which Celtic players will feature?
Celtic may be fresh off the back of a 9–0 victory over Dundee United last Sunday, but Mackay does not think there is any guarantee that his opposite number Ange Postecoglou will name an unchanged side.
The Glasgow outfit's schedule kicks up a gear from now, with a midweek cup match tomorrow and then Champions League football following next week in between Premiership games at weekends.
With that in mind, there could be some rotation in the visiting ranks in Dingwall, but Mackay says he can still prepare for broad principles that will not change.
"We will look at how they hurt teams, and it will be interesting what team they select," he explained.
"I wondered how that would go against Rangers, and I was slightly surprised that it was the full strength team that beat PSV that got put out against us three days later.
"I guess there's a bit of credit where our boys are concerned that Rangers felt they had to do that.
"Celtic have us on Wednesday, Rangers on Saturday and then Real Madrid coming up, so it's a toss up who's one, two and three in that.
"We'll see what their team looks like, but they play in a certain way, in a certain style and in a certain system invariably. We'll do what we can to upset that."
Extending the gap, or pulling everyone up?
Celtic and Rangers both reaching the Champions League group stage has sparked plenty of debate online about whether that is truly a good thing for Scottish football.
On one hand, Scotland's co-efficient will receive a timely boost, and players will get the chance to test themselves against some of the best in the world.
On the other, the financial boost that both clubs are due will make it harder for others to reel them in domestically, with it already being 37 years since any side outside the Glasgow giants won the top flight.
Mackay, with his experience working in the Scottish FA, believes that added representation on such a big stage can only be a good thing – for every Premiership club.
"Anything that gives this country a larger position within European football has got to be a good thing," Mackay insisted.
"Rangers getting to the final last year is a great thing as far as Scottish football's reputation in Europe is concerned. Celtic and Rangers getting to the group stages gives this country glamour, a standing.
"Our clubs are going to benefit, the solidarity payments that come to Premiership clubs because of the UEFA rankings gives us more money than we could have had, which can help this football club's academy, structure, team and staff.
"The fact that they're giving Celtic and Rangers so much more, that's life. It happens. As far as I'm concerned, I never want our teams to go out in the first round. What does that say about you as a person?
"I was talking to a member of staff at Hearts, and the bonus they get for going into the Conference League is going to be great for their football club.
"It dials up our standing in Europe, so anything that puts money back into Scottish football has got to be good for us."
