Mackay wary of effect Tynecastle crowd could have as Ross County prepare to travel to Edinburgh to face Hearts in Scottish Premiership
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Malky Mackay says the first challenge Ross County will have to overcome against Hearts on Saturday will be the atmosphere at Tynecastle.
The Jambos are the one team the Staggies have not yet experienced a proper away day at this season, with their first meeting in Edinburgh being the Boxing Day clash played behind closed doors as the country went into another lockdown.
Tynecastle is often cited as a favoured away ground among Scottish football fans, with the stadium known for being atmospheric, and Mackay says he will be talking to his squad about that element of this weekend's match before kick off.
"I will definitely mention it, but the players have been to Celtic and Rangers, so they're used to that," Mackay reasoned.
"Tynecastle is a real cauldron. Having played there and having been part of a management staff there with the Scotland Under-21s, I know the club and the stadium really well.
"The fans are very close to the pitch, and you would think off the back of where Robbie's finished in the league, the cup result in the semi final and getting to the final that it's going to be a big crowd.
"There will be a hell of an atmosphere, and it's going to be tough, because it's tough enough going down to Tynecastle when there's nobody in the stadium.
"They're a really good team, Robbie's done a fabulous job for us, so that would be hard enough. Then you add in 18,000 Corgie Road people, then it's going to be a tough one for us.
"The flip side of that is I loved stuff like this as a player, and I love stuff like this as a manager. You want to play against the best, and you want to play in the best atmospheres.
"Last Sunday it was a great atmosphere in Dingwall. We had over 6500 people here, it was a great as the atmosphere has been all season on TV against the best team in the country.
"You want to test yourself against that, you want to be in those atmospheres and experience that as much as possible, so I want the biggest crowd possible at Tynecastle so that we can go and test ourselves against a really youth team.
"It's going to be a really tough one, of course it is, but I love the fact that we're having to test ourselves against the best in the country right now."
Mackay anticipates having the same squad available to him as he did for the home match against Celtic last time out, with Jack Baldwin still suspended and none of the injured players in Dingwall ready to return.
One area he will be looking for a change in, though, will be the result against Hearts.
Across the three matches between the sides this season, two have finished in draws while Robbie Neilson's men won the other at home in December.
"The two games up here have been terrific entertainment," Mackay recalled.
"I was really disappointed with how we were down at Tynecastle in the first half to be honest.
"It was a strange atmosphere, it was the time of the lockdown and it was a dead empty stadium. You could hear one or two people clapping and shouting.
"I wasn't involved in it last year, but it must have been dreadful for everyone concerned without fans. What I do know is that I know Tynecastle well, and I know how the atmosphere is going to be at the weekend.
"That's absolutely something to look forward to. I spoke to the players about it, and we did last week touching on the fact that there was a 6700 sell-out here, live on Sky against the league leaders.
"Now we play the third best team in the country right now and there will be 15-20,000 people at Tynecastle, so it will be a great atmosphere. We just have to make sure we match that with the football."
