{"id":10878,"date":"2022-03-19T17:15:18","date_gmt":"2022-03-19T17:15:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2022\/03\/19\/i-would-not-be-a-footballer-without-him\/"},"modified":"2022-03-19T17:15:18","modified_gmt":"2022-03-19T17:15:18","slug":"i-would-not-be-a-footballer-without-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2022\/03\/19\/i-would-not-be-a-footballer-without-him\/","title":{"rendered":"I would not be a footballer without him"},"content":{"rendered":"
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MALKY MACKAY admits he would never have made it as a top-tier footballer without the leadership of Frank Connor.<\/p>\n

Former Celtic coach and manager Connor, who died this month, has made a lasting impression on the now Ross County boss.<\/p>\n

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Connor sadly passed away this month<\/span>Credit: SNS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Mackay was full of praise for his former coach during his playing days<\/span>Credit: Andrew Barr<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mackay became a Celtic defender after being knocked out of Queen’s Park.<\/p>\n

And he thinks it’s fitting that he should return to her old ways today, just four days after seeing 86-year-old Connor.<\/p>\n

Although he spent a short part of his playing career at Celtic, Connor was their reserve coach in the late 1970s.<\/p>\n

He then returned as assistant manager under Davie Hay from 1983-86 before stepping down as chief of staff in 1993 following the departure of Liam Brady.<\/p>\n

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Despite a strong emphasis on County’s hopes of an uproar in the east end of Glasgow, Mackay admitted Connor, below, will be very much in his mind.<\/p>\n

He said: “It is fitting that we play Celtic.<\/p>\n

“I was at the funeral and there were an awful lot of people in Motherwell Cathedral, a big football party there.<\/p>\n

“Frank was one of my mentors. He was my coach at the Celtic Reserve for a while and I would not be a footballer without him.<\/p>\n

“He was a man of football. The standards and disciplines that Frank set for his entire career are still present today in many of the games that were passed back then.<\/p>\n

“He was a fantastic footballer all his life and he was also a real family man.<\/p>\n

“His nine children were there, his ten grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The cathedral was packed.<\/p>\n

“He was a very loyal servant of many clubs, one of them Celtic.<\/p>\n

“I was there with a lot of people who are into football, and my condolences go out to Meg and the whole family. It’s a sad loss.”<\/p>\n

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