Ross County manager Malky Mackay laments how Brexit is making it tougher for clubs like his to successfully tap into the British loans market to bolster their cinch Scottish Premiership campaign
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Malky Mackay says Brexit is making it tougher for clubs like Ross County to successfully tap into the UK loans market.
The Dingwall club were recently named as one of the world’s top five loan destinations in a study by the influential international transfer market website ‘Transfer Room’
It crunched data to find that the Staggies ranked among the best for enhancing the careers of loanees by maximising their playing time.
County enjoyed top six success last season with individuals such as Arsenal’s Harry Clarke, Watford’s Jo Hungbo, Coventry’s Jack Burroughs and Charlton’s Ash Maynard-Brewer making a huge contribution.
Mackay felt that, key to this, was the players embracing the club as if it was their own.
The former SFA performance director is keen to wean County away from a heavy reliance on loans to permanent signings, but admits the market will always be important to the Highland club.
But he admitted: “There is still a big role for loans to play, there always has been.
“It has become harder, though – especially with Brexit.
“A lot of the English clubs now cannot bring in players from abroad quite as easily as they did because of the Home Office point situation.
“They are now looking at Premier League loans.
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“You are getting Championship clubs in England combing the English Premier League’s under-23 teams, which they never did before.
“That means English League 1 and Scottish Premiership clubs are looking at Premier League clubs in England and being offered their under-18s.
“That becomes harder to do, but it’s not impossible.
“You saw from the players we brought in successfully last season that they can make a big impact.
“It can help their careers as well, and move them back to their clubs to see where they can go from there.”
County’s first three signings of the summer – Yan Dhanda from Swansea, Victor Loturi from Calvary and George Harmon from Oxford City - have all been permanent deals.
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With at least six more to come, though, Mackay isn’t ruling out relying on loans while striving to build a strong core of permanent captures.
Influential performers have been lost from last season, including top scorer Regan Charles-Cook, midfielders Blair Spittal and Harry Paton, as well as the aforementioned loanees.
Mackay stressed: “I would hope 12 months from now we’re down that line of permanent deals even further.
“It was always going to be difficult at the start, last summer, when we’d lost so many players, to try and bring everyone in on permanent deals that were going to have an effect on the team.
“Knowing we were going to lose six players this summer is not good, but it is something you have to deal with.
“The more permanent deals we sign and longer-term contracts we give, the more we have succession planning.
“Then we can have players move on from this club for fees, which is good for the player and good for the club.
“There is more chance that players won’t just be walking out of contract.
“That’s part of the whole recruitment conversation I had with chairman Roy MacGregor and chief executive Steven Ferguson when I came.
“We had to make the squad management part of our business as well as obviously having great benefit for the team.
“There is also a pathway for the academy boys now, which has started to take shape, for the longer-term benefit of the club.
“We are trying to move away from the loans, although we will still have to do that this year.
READ MORE: Yan's the man for County as new signing targets Europe
“As the seasons go on, hopefully there will be more permanence and we’ll find that next season, I’m not looking for nine or 10, I am looking for three or four.
“You then have a general squad that has a healthiness about it in terms of knowing where we are going with a plan.“
