Matthew Wright is eager to use his loan spell with Elgin City to put advice from Ross County manager Malky Mackay into practice.
Forward Wright, 20, has joined the Black and Whites on a temporary deal, which will be reviewed in January.
The Lewis-born striker netted his first goal for City in last weekend’s 1-1 draw with East Fife, with a trip to Bonnyrigg Rose next up on Saturday.
After spending last season on loan with League One sides Montrose and Falkirk, Wright netted a hat-trick in the Staggies’ first pre-season fixture against Nairn County.
Wright subsequently held a lengthy discussion with Staggies gaffer Mackay, who pinpointed numerous areas of his all-round game, aside from his clear goalscoring instincts, which required work.
That made the opportunity to hold down regular football at Borough Briggs an appealing one.
Wright said: “I had a chat with the manager a few weeks into pre-season.
“He said that if I could improve on other sides of the game, and keep scoring goals, I can hopefully get my chance.
“There are a few sides of the game I have to get better at.
“It’s not so much a crossroads, I think it’s just a stepping stone.
“I scored three against Nairn in pre-season, and I had a chat with him about all the other bits I still need to work on.
⚽️ Our goals from last night’s 3-1 friendly win over Nairn County.
1️⃣ Matthew Wright heads home after some great play from Josh Reid.
2️⃣ Wright grabs his second after a mix-up in the Nairn defence.
3️⃣ Wright completes his hat-trick with a deftly finished backheel from a corner. pic.twitter.com/HfrjrVCTYi— Ross County FC (@RossCounty) July 5, 2023
“It’s not so much a pressure, but him telling me where I am and which things I need to do to get there.
“For any younger player at a club, it’s not harder to break through, but you are up against players with slightly more experience who have maybe come up from England.
“There are five or six other strikers there, so if I’m not going to play then maybe heading to Elgin I can hopefully play every week and keep learning and improving.
“Hopefully after that I can get my chance at Ross County, which is ultimately what I want.”
Striker not dwelling on frustrating Bairns spell
Wright enjoyed a fine start to last term, in which he netted six goals in 19 appearances for League One Montrose during the first half of the campaign.
That attracted the attention of title-chasing Falkirk, which resulted in him making the switch in January.
It was to prove a less successful spell, however, with Wright making just two starts and 12 sub appearances, netting once.
Wright is keen to take his spell with the Bairns in his stride, adding: “The manager told me to play my own game, and hopefully I could play myself into the team.
“I had a few chances and didn’t score them, so that sort of played with me a little bit.
“I wasn’t playing and I wasn’t scoring, but that’s what happens in football sometimes.
“You won’t play every game, but it’s all about the experience.
“At Falkirk I didn’t play a lot, but in the first half of the season I went to Montrose and played about 20 games.
“I started maybe half of them, and scored more.
“Having had that side of it, I have also had the other side of it when I have maybe not been playing and scoring so much.
“I have experienced both sides of it, so hopefully in the future I can learn from that.”
Wright has opportunity to impress Staggies boss every day
In comparison to his previous loan spells, Elgin’s close proximity to Dingwall will allow Wright to continue training four days a week with the Staggies.
Wright, who netted a late equaliser for County in a 3-3 draw against Rangers in January 2022, hopes to make the most of the opportunity to impress Mackay.
He added: “I can still train here from a Tuesday to a Friday, but I will train with Elgin on a Thursday as well.
“It’s good to train in front of the manager here, but hopefully playing every week at Elgin as well. That’s the ultimate aim.
“At Falkirk, I was halfway between Glasgow and Edinburgh and I was staying there the whole time, so I couldn’t show the manager here.
“Hopefully between now and January I will play every game, and if I score a lot of goals, I will speak to the manager.
“If he wants to take me back, hopefully it will be an option to prove myself here (at County).
“Hopefully I can start playing in the Premiership, if that’s an option.
“If not, I will stay at Elgin or maybe look elsewhere.
“For now, I will hopefully enjoy my time at Elgin, hopefully play every week and see what happens after that.”
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