Malky Mackay says the mental strength displayed by his Ross County players this season could shape the success they enjoy later in their careers.
The Staggies are without a win from their opening seven Premiership fixtures, and looking to change that when they make the trip to Dundee United on Saturday.
Mackay has assembled a new-look squad since taking over from John Hughes in the summer, having made 12 new additions.
Six have arrived on loan from English clubs, with the oldest of those being 22-year-old Australian goalkeeper Ashley Maynard-Brewer.
Among the other loanees to have arrived are Arsenal defender Harry Clarke, Manchester City midfielder Alex Robertson and Watford winger Joseph Hungbo.
Mackay feels players with designs on playing at the highest level must show an ability to handle the demands placed on them.
He said: “They have got to be strong for their whole career.
“The mind is a funny thing, and especially in professional sport. At the elite end, you are judged on it every day in life. Where your career goes depends upon the mental state you are in to prepare yourself every day.
“Having been there myself, I’ve got a great respect for these players. I see the sacrifices they make concerning what they put into their body, and the work they do every day to be in a position to play at a high level of sport.
“They have to have the ability to stay mentally strong through a variety of things. There is insecurity of whether they will get a game, where their career is going, where their contract sits, how well the manager thinks they’re doing, as well as what the public say and what is written on social media about them.
“There are a lot of factors that come into their mental strength.
“It goes back to playing five-a-side with your pals – there are levels of who can play at what level. Eventually people get to the Highland League, and then through the SPFL and into international football and World Cups.
“You could imagine being on the pitch in the game between Man City and PSG – you would be eaten alive playing on that pitch unless you were actually at that level.”
Mackay says the advent of social media since his own playing career has brought an additional challenge for modern players to deal with, adding: “Criticism is actually leaving a lot of areas of life at the moment because of the world we are in, but it’s still here in football.
“It’s one of the industries where it’s still seen as acceptable to hurl abuse from stands, or on social media.
“Back in the day you would be reading a paper, and invariably it was a match report. Very rarely did anybody ever get personal about a player in the game, it just didn’t happen.
“You were never really reading something that made you think ‘that really hurt’, and that’s what players have got to deal with now.
“It’s beginning to be highlighted, maybe only because of certain big topics, but there’s also the little topic of abusing somebody playing football, telling them they’re awful.
“There is a difference nowadays with that, and it’s about how you deal with it.”
