Brad Mckay hopes Mark Ridgers will acknowledge his part in helping the goalkeeper to rack up 50 clean sheets for Inverness.
Ridgers has made 133 appearances since joining Caley Thistle from Partick Thistle in 2017, and clocked up the milestone in Friday’s 3-0 victory over Queen of the South at Palmerston.
Defender Mckay, who joined Inverness 12 months previously after leaving St Johnstone, paid tribute to Ridgers, but also takes personal pride in the milestone.
Mckay said: “I must give Mark a shout-out because that’s his 50th clean sheet.
“He was chewing my ear off in the dressing room about it and I was telling him to settle himself saying I have probably played every single one of them.
“It was great to be involved in a goal on Friday. I’ve not been involved in a goal since I broke my back last season. I never really got going again.
“For me, though, I take pride in clean sheets and try to give the forwards a chance to go and win the game.
“We went in at half-time 1-0 up on Friday, but the manager told us if we kept Queen of the South at nil we would win the game.
“I don’t know how many clean sheets that is for me, because I have obviously been here longer than Ridgers – I will probably claim more than him.
“But it’s great for the big man and he’s absolutely delighted about it.”
Mckay is only 27, but has found himself among the senior campaigners in John Robertson’s youthful squad this season.
The former Hearts player feels he has a key role to play in helping the younger players flourish, adding: “We’ve got a lot of young players in the squad and sometimes they can be a bit inexperienced, they just want to keep playing, they want to get the ball back and attack.
“I’m an older pro now – I hate saying that. I was the oldest in the back four until Danny Devine started jumping in.
“But sometimes you’ve got to make them aware there are ways to win a game. If it’s slowing throw-ins down, taking time at set-pieces, or just being smart, that’s what they learn from the older boys.
“It’s an extra bit of responsibility from the manager to make me loud, to speak and be a voice in there.
“Sometimes with an older pro beside me who is older than myself, they can talk me through the game.
“These kids have got great talent, they are maybe just lacking that little game management.
“That’s the thing that helped me when I was coming through, so I’m happy to pass it on to the younger guys.
“We played Hearts at the start of the season with a bare minimum squad, with loads of young guys and they stepped in and did great.
“There are loads of boys coming back. Things are looking up for us.”
Caley Jags remain fifth in the Championship following their victory in Dumfries, after Ayr United’s triumph over Alloa Athletic on Saturday.
Mckay was thrilled with his side’s display, adding: “The manager said that by us playing first it gave us a chance to put pressure on the teams below and above.
“We needed to take care of ourselves.
“We never knew what to expect from Queen of the South because their form in this calendar year has not been great.
“We knew that, but they have picked up in the last couple of weeks so we always needed to be careful.
“You try not to look too much into form no matter who you are playing, you try to focus on yourself.
“It was a dominant performance from the boys – and I thought the front boys were great.”
