Ross County forward Billy Mckay says the struggles of his former club Wigan Athletic have shown how lucky the Staggies are to be in the safe hands of chairman Roy MacGregor.
The Latics have been one of English football’s major victims of the coronavirus pandemic after their owner Au Yeung Wai Kay, stopped funding the Championship club and put it into administration.
It came only four weeks after Au Yeung, who heads the Next Leader Fund, took on full ownership of the Lancashire outfit, claiming to have invested more than £40 million in the club.
Mckay previously had a two-and-a-half years at Wigan prior to joining the Staggies in 2017, although much of that time was spent on loan with Dundee United, Oldham Athletic and Caley Thistle.
Despite enduring a frustrating time at DW Stadium, Mckay has nothing but well wishes for his former club.
Mckay said: “It is quite a unique situation at Wigan and I am not really too sure what is going on behind the scenes.
“There aren’t too many players from my time there but it is obviously sad to see my old club like that.
“They were playing well on the pitch and I know they are still working hard. I know a few members of staff who had been there for a long time but lost their job over it, which is also sad.
“It is sad for any club to be in a position like that but I am sure they will get through it, as it seems something has not been quite right.
“Hopefully, they can get to the bottom of it and come through the other side.”
Mckay has heaped praise on County chairman MacGregor for the way he has dealt with the Dingwall side’s players since Scottish football was suspended on March 13 due to coronavirus.
The 31-year-old added: “He has been brilliant from the start. He has been honest and done a lot of video calls to keep everyone up to date on what’s going on.
“We are trying to come together with the Staggies Army and things like that.
“It has been great for us that Roy has looked after us and we are really lucky to have him.”
Mckay was on the scoresheet as County drew 2-2 with Aberdeen in their first closed door friendly of pre-season at Cormack Park on Saturday.
County’s preparation for the new campaign will continue when they travel to face Hibernian at the Edinburgh club’s East Mains training centre in another bounce game on Saturday.
Although Mckay was pleased to be on the scoresheet, he insists it does not equate to the thrill of netting in a competitive outing.
Mckay added: “It was good for the lads to all get 45 minutes under our belts, because there is so much training you can do.
“It was a good run out and we scored a couple of goals.
“There were also a couple of things from it that we can work on so it has been perfect.
“All the lads are buzzing to be back in training.
“It was a good feeling to score but nothing replicates a proper match and hopefully I can continue to do that this season.”
