Brora Rangers boss credits Highland League manager of the year award to coaching team
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Steven Mackay dedicated his Highland League manager of the year award to his coaching team, saying Brora Rangers could not have won the title without them.
Mackay picked up the top manager award in a dominant season where they were crowned Highland League champions and North of Scotland Cup winners.
But he wanted to give credit to assistant manager Craig Campbell and coach David Hind who he hailed as being influential in the club’s success.
“I know I received the award as manager of the club,” he said.
“But there was no way as a squad we would have been able to win the league if it wasn’t for the support from Craig Campbell and David Hind.
“We’re a solid unit as a three and we come as a three. They have contributed equally as much as I have and they deserve recognition for what they have done.”
Brora were crowned Highland League champions when the season was concluded on March 21 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Cattachs were 13 points ahead of second place Inverurie Locos with six games remaining when the season ended.
Mackay says there was an early setback, a 1-0 defeat away at Nairn County.
But he was pleased with the response from his squad, which included beating a strong Caley Thistle team to win the North of Scotland Cup in October which led to such an emphatic campaign.
“After last season, our expectations were really high and we didn’t shy away from that. We set a task and our objective was to win the Highland League. We knew we had the capabilities to do that and it was about delivering it week in and week out.
“To be fair the players did that, the only game they underperformed was when they lost at Nairn. It was a kick up the backside for us, at the time it was horrendous and one of the lowest points I have ever experienced as a player and manager.
“But it drummed home the message we wanted to get into players that nobody was going to hand us a title.
We had to earn the right to win games and they won every game outwith losing at home to Fraserburgh. It was a phenomenal effort and they got into a good habit of working hard and winning games.
"We were never complacent but always confident that we would win games."
