Malky Mackay asked to be judged on his future rather than his past after he was controversially appointed as the Scottish Football Association’s new performance director yesterday.
Mackay’s media conference at Hampden Park was dominated inevitably by questions about the 2014 text message scandal when he admitted to having sent discriminatory messages to his friend and former Cardiff City colleague, Iain Moody. That episode led to a Football Association investigation which ultimately cleared him of wrongdoing but did enormous damage to his reputation and career.
Fresh allegations surfaced on the eve of his appointment, concerning payments to agents, but Mackay said he had no secrets and had kept the SFA fully informed of the likely legal claim against him by Vincent Tan, the Cardiff owner.
Stewart Regan, the SFA chief executive, defended having given Mackay one of the key positions in the Scottish game and highlighted the diversity and equality courses the 44-year-old had taken voluntarily since he was stigmatised by accusations of racism, sexism, homophobia and anti-Semitism.
The appointment is a huge gamble for the SFA given the message it could send out and the possibility of further damaging accusations being made against Mackay by Tan, although it was endorsed by the anti-racism groups Show Racism The Red Card and Kick It Out, who praised Mackay’s actions following the scandal.
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“We accept Malky has made mistakes: he said things that were regrettable,” said Regan. “But he has shown genuine remorse and we were impressed and encouraged by the actions he has taken since coming out and apologising for what he said. He has undertaken of his own volition diversity and equality training and has lectured on that to a number of different organisations.
“We actually believe that Malky will be a force for good for Scottish football. He will be part of our equality and diversity strategy and be a real advocate for the role. It’s up to Malky to prove to people that he can be part of our strategy and for people to judge Malky by his actions and how he behaves going forward. He has gone through a hell of a lot in the last three years and he will be an ambassador for that programme.”
Mackay spoke calmly under the glare of the television cameras and appealed for understanding and patience. “Judge me on what you see going forward,” he said.
“Three years ago I apologised publicly and in front of cameras. I apologised privately for the three texts to the two gentlemen that I spoke about [the South Korean player Kim Bo-kyung and the Jewish agent Phil Smith]. For the last three years I have been involved in diversity and equality meetings and, basically, been on an education to the point where I probably know more about it than anybody in this room in terms of actually going on to talk to young players and coaches.”
On the eve of the announcement a report emerged of a High Court case in which Cardiff City are seeking up to £10 million in damages from Mackay and some associates relating to two transfer deals. Mackay said he had been aware of the action and notified the SFA before his appointment.
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“I was waiting on it. It was something I had spoken to Stewart about and something my legal advisers had advised the SFA about on an early basis. I categorically deny I have done anything wrong and there is no shred of evidence against me, but I do respect the legal process.”
Regan sidestepped a question about whether another candidate, Austin MacPhee, had been the SFA’s preferred choice prior to having withdrawn himself from consideration to take the post of assistant head coach at Hearts. “Malky was a standout candidate at the beginning of the process and he was the standout candidate at the end of the process. Austin MacPhee was included in the process, but withdrew. He had a job offer and decided to take it.”
Mackay is the SFA’s third performance director after short stints by Mark Wotte and Brian McClair. “Brian gave it his best shot,” said Regan. “Unfortunately he didn’t deliver what we needed and he also got frustrated.
“Malky has impressed us with a number of attributes: his strategic thinking; his ability to develop strategies and clear examples of how he’s put those in place at Watford; how he has assisted Cardiff in restructuring [departments] to link in to the first team. He has got a clear understanding of the player pathway. He has worked with some very strong coaches. He has educated himself by looking at clubs abroad as well as at home and has come up with some very interesting ideas. He is a great communicator.”