Mckay expects Neilson preparation
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Brad Mckay wouldn’t be surprised if Robbie Neilson rolled up in Inverness today with a note of what Caley Thistle’s players had for breakfast.
The former Hearts defender was always in awe of Neilson’s attention to detail during his Tynecastle days.
Mckay, a member of Neilson’s 2014/15 Championship-winning squad, well remembers the young manager’s immaculate preparation for matches.
Whether it was video analysis, inside intelligence or detailed reconnaissance on opposition players, nothing was left to chance.
Mckay knows United will have done their research and could be a tough nut to crack in Inverness.
The 25-year-old said: “I know Robbie Neilson well from my time at Hearts – he’s a very good coach.
“He is meticulous in his video analysis and preparatory stuff. They will have watched us numerous times through the week and probably even before that.
“It was noticeable, when we drew 1-1 with them at Tannadice in October, they were better-organised than they had been in the past.
“Robbie is different to any other manager I have worked under. Most managers have a way they want to play. While they obviously look at the opposition, they have their own set way of going out and beating a team.
“Robbie’s not like that. If you are playing against a team that plays a three or five at the back, he will train all week on how to break that down and beat them.
“It obviously worked very well for him at Hearts, but there was one-time it almost back-fired.
“We played Queen of the South on the Saturday expecting them to play three at the back.
“We trained all week on how to break them down, but he turned the sheet over and they were playing four at the back.
“It kind of threw him a bit, so he said ‘just go out and play’. That was probably the one time he got caught out – although we ended up beating them anyway!
“That’s how he works. From Monday, all the way through to Saturday, it’s all about how to break the other team."
Mckay knows Caley Thistle, like Ross County in Dingwall last month, could face a United side eager to grab the first goal and then shut up shop.
The Edinburgh-born defender feels it up to the Inverness players to prevent a repeat of County’s 1-0 home defeat.
He said: “Knowing how to frustrate a team and win the game is massive for any manager.
“By whatever means, that’s what he will look to do.
“Every team we have played in Inverness this season have set up to frustrate us.
“In some games, we have not found the answers. We have been a bit impatient at times in the way we’ve gone forward and attacked.
“But we’ve spoken about it and, if it’s not going our way sometimes, we have to avoid going mad just throwing bodies forward and launching the ball into the box.
“It’s a case of being a bit more patient, keeping the ball and drawing teams out.”
Mckay admits he would have happily forsaken the club’s 25-game league unbeaten run this season for a few more wins – but insists it is still all to play for in the title race.
He added: “We should be further up than we are. There have definitely been a few frustrating results for us.
“I’ve said all along, instead of drawing so many games, I’d have taken one or two defeats if we could have then strung a few wins together.
“But we’re not out of it at all – we are definitely in touching distance.
“In this league, if you can go on a decent run of three or four wins on a row, everything changes because the other teams will beat each other.”
