Ross County manager Malky Mackay has revealed skipper Keith Watson has started the process of attaining his Scottish FA coaching badges.
Defender Watson recently turned 33, making him the oldest player in the Staggies’ squad.
He is also the club’s longest-serving player, having joined from St Johnstone in summer 2018 – making 121 appearances during that time.
During his own playing career, Mackay gained the first of five Scotland caps aged 32, at a time when he was starting to cast his eye towards coaching.
It ultimately led to him being handed a player-coach role at Watford in 2007.
Mackay is pleased Watson has made a start on fulfilling his post-playing career ambitions.
He said: “Keith has started his Scottish FA badges and we’ve spoken about that side of the game.
“Keith’s not that old. I started my badges around about the same age as him and they take seven years to go the whole way through.
“For me, it is the right time to start because then, by 36 or 37, you can have your pro-licence, which is what I did.
“It will broaden his horizons in terms of some of the coaching aspects.
“I’ve spoken to some of my old colleagues at the SFA coaching department and they’ve been very flexible in terms of him doing stuff by Zoom.
“There are a lot of good people in the Scottish FA coaching course who have a real willingness to want to help professional footballers and ex-professionals start in that line of the game.
“There are so many areas they go into between youth football, analysis, talent identification and your professional badges that will help you.
“I already have feedback from them on what a great guy he is.”
Watson has key role still to play on park
Although Watson is already preparing for his next steps beyond his playing career, he still has plenty to offer on the pitch.
Watson, alongside Alex Iacovitti in the heart of the defence, played a key role in the Staggies’ recent back-to-back wins over St Mirren and Hibernian, which moved them out of the relegation zone prior to the World Cup break.
Mackay handed Watson the club captaincy shortly after taking over at Victoria Park, with Jack Baldwin in place as team captain.
The Staggies boss insists Watson is a crucial figure among his squad.
He said: “These type of people are worth their weight in gold and don’t normally get the credit.
“They are low maintenance, and because they aren’t high maintenance people they are spoken about a lot.
“People get used to them training every day at a high level and being the good guy, and when he’s needed to be the ambassador of the club.
“For me, individuals like that are gold – at every club I’ve been to there have been a couple of people like that who end up with over 500 games for the team and usually picked up a winner’s medal somewhere along the line.
“The more of them you can get at your club the better and it is why I named Keith club captain and why I wanted him to be the ambassador for the club.”
“We have a club captain and a team captain, but Keith leads and Jack is his assistant. Keith leads by example. He is a quiet spokesman in the dressing room.”
‘He’s like Mr Potato Head, where we stick bits on him’
Mackay insists Watson sets the standard he demands from his squad on the training ground.
He added: “He trains hard every day and expects the same of others.
“I think he’s also the bionic man, because usually something breaks in training every day and it is just screwed back together.
“There’s a bandage on him every day in training because he is usually blocking something or getting smashed in the face by the ball.
“I have to put him together most weeks. He’s like Mr Potato Head, where we stick bits on him.
“But he is exactly the type of person I want at this football club – he is somebody Ross County fans should be proud that he wears the jersey. I’m proud he’s the front to our club.”
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