Malky Mackay believes teenager Dylan Smith has made the most of his opportunity to break into Ross County’s first team.
Defender Smith has started the Staggies’ last two matches against Celtic and St Johnstone, helping his side to a clean sheet in the latter match.
County’s defensive options have been limited in recent weeks, with Jack Baldwin missing the last three matches through suspension. He will return to contention for Friday’s visit of Aberdeen.
Club captain Keith Watson has also been nursing an Achilles issue, which presented the 16-year-old with his opportunity.
Mackay is thrilled with the way the Scotland under-17 international has stepped up to the task.
He said: “One person’s disappointment is another’s opportunity.
“Young Dylan is a case in point and his opportunities would probably have come later otherwise. My hand has been forced slightly.
“He’s there on merit, he’s not there for any reason other than that.
“I was very proud of him against Celtic, making his full debut at 16 years old. He’s the youngest player in the Premiership this year, and he has just come off the back of international caps as well.
“He was playing against the best centre-forward in the league and showed a real calmness, so I’ve got really high hopes for him at Ross County.
“Any player, and any coach, will tell you that the next thing for him is consistency, but he’s a really level-headed young man and he’s involved for the right reasons.”
Smith stood up to test in vital Saints fixture
County’s triumph over Saints provided them with a boost in their survival effort, moving them to within a point of 10th-placed Kilmarnock and five adrift of the Perth side.
In such a vital fixture, Mackay was delighted with the way Smith took the challenges of the game in his stride.
Mackay added: “His performance belied his age against St Johnstone.
“He was up against a good, clever player in Stevie May.
“I thought in terms of his positional sense, he worked well alongside Alex Iacovitti and Connor Randall, but he also showed his aerial ability.
“We had to be strong against a lot of balls into the box as they have good delivery and put bodies in there.
“Dylan was one we decided not to put out on loan to the Highland League at the start of the season, like we have done with five lads who are slightly older than him.
“I felt we could get him training with the senior pros, then we would see real incremental improvement.
“He is a huge talent at 16 – he made his debut at Ibrox, then his first start against Celtic and Kyogo.
“As always with youngsters it’s about stability, then performance and being consistent with that.
“But he played so well in really testing circumstances against a good striker.”
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