Nairn County manager says Brora Rangers love-in won't happen until final whistle as he prepares for battle against former deputy Craig Campbell
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STEVEN Mackay admits it will feel strange squaring up to former club Brora Rangers tomorrow – but only once the dust settles.
There will be no quarter given and none asked as the new Nairn County manager tries to plot a shock win over his former club.
Not only did Mackay win back-to-back league titles and five cup trophies as Brora player and record goalscorer, he secured two more championships and a North Cup as manager.
Throw in the fact that Mackay and his Dudgeon Park successor, past assistant Craig Campbell, are boyhood pals, and there is an intriguing undercurrent to the Station Park clash.
“Football, from time to time, throws up these strange scenarios,” Mackay reflected.
“The fondness and affiliation I have for Brora is never going to go away. I loved my years there and will always have a lot of admiration for the club and people. From a management perspective, this will be the first time I’ve gone up against Cammy, but he’s as competitive as I am so that’s all forgotten for 90 minutes.”
Mackay saw his new charges lose a 2–0 lead against Inverurie Locos, eventually drawing the match, before losing 3–1 to Huntly at the weekend. He has his work cut out after Nairn’s winless run this season and drop to second bottom place, but a clear plan on where they can go and improve.
“The response has been excellent and everyone is buying into what we’re trying to do,” Mackay said. “We’ve had a good, open conversation that hopefully sets the tone for the rest of the season.
“The response has been really positive and we just have to reflect that in performances. I’m confident we can start to do that.
“The league table doesn’t lie. We’re averaging over three goals against per game. The Highland League is a different proposition now with the threat of relegation that looms.
“Is the squad too strong to go down? Absolutely. But if we’re performing the way we have been, then no-one is too good to get relegated.
“That’s definitely the first aim for us, to pull away from that area in the table.
“We have a really tough proposition on Saturday in Brora and we won’t be defined by that game. We’ll be defined by results against teams around us.”
