| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Malcolm George Mackay | ||
| Date of birth | 19 February 1972 | ||
| Place of birth | Bellshill, Scotland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||
| Playing position | Centre back | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Cardiff City (Manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Queen's Park | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1990–1993 | Queen's Park | 70 | (6) |
| 1993–1998 | Celtic | 34 | (4) |
| 1998 | → Norwich City (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 1998–2004 | Norwich City | 212 | (15) |
| 2004–2005 | West Ham United | 18 | (2) |
| 2005–2008 | Watford | 52 | (3) |
| National team | |||
| 2004 | Scotland | 5 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2008 | Watford (caretaker) | ||
| 2009–2011 | Watford | ||
| 2011– | Cardiff City | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Malcolm George "Malky" Mackay (born 19 February 1972, in Bellshill) is a Scottish football manager and former player, who played as a central defender. He is currently the manager of Cardiff City. Mackay began his playing career in Scottish football, with Queen's Park and Celtic. He joined English side Norwich City in 1998, remaining there for six years. Between 2003 and 2006, he achieved consecutive promotions to the Premier League with Norwich, West Ham and finally Watford. He played for Watford in the Premier League, and after retiring as a player in 2008, reached the position of full-time manager in June 2009. He was appointed manager of Cardiff City in June 2011. Mackay won five caps for Scotland towards the end of his playing career.
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Mackay began his career in his native Scotland, coming through the youth ranks of Queen's Park, before joining Scottish giants Celtic in the summer of 1993. He made 46 appearances in 5 years with the Glasgow club, and in September 1998 moved to England, joining Norwich City for a fee of £350,000 after a one-game loan spell.[1]
At the end of the 2001–02 season Norwich fans voted Mackay in second place behind Gary Holt in the voting for Norwich City player of the year. In the 2003–04 season, his sixth at Norwich, the club was promoted to the Premier League after winning Division One, however he was released by Norwich at the end of the season. He was named in the Football League First Division Team of the Year in the 2003–04 in which they got promoted. Arguably Mackay's most famous moment at Norwich was during a local derby against Ipswich Town, in which he scored two goals.[2]
Mackay signed for West Ham United, before getting a chance to play in the Premier League, for £300,000 on 10 September 2004. He played 18 league games for the Hammers, although none after March, as West Ham reached the play-offs, beating Preston North End in the final to reach the Premier League. Mackay was released before playing a top flight game.[1]
Mackay was picked up on a free transfer by Aidy Boothroyd as part of his rebuilding of Watford and soon become one of the key figures in Boothroyd's side. Mackay's experience was an invaluable asset to Watford and alongside Clarke Carlisle and Jay Demerit, Mackay was involved in some fantastic defensive displays as well as scoring some vital goals, including one against fierce rivals Luton Town at Kenilworth Road in a 2–1 victory.[3] At the end of the 2005–06 season Mackay achieved the feat of being promoted to the Premier League for the third successive season, as Watford defeated Leeds United 3–0 in the play-off final.[4]
After having been released following his two previous promotion campaigns, Mackay was assured by Boothroyd that he would play a part in Watford's Premier League campaign, citing his experience as an important asset to the team. Although he was not a first-team regular, Mackay made 14 Premier League appearances in 2006–07. In January 2007, Mackay took his first step into coaching by being promoted to first team coach, following the departure of Dave Hockaday.[5]
In the 2007–08 season Mackay's only first team appearance came during an FA Cup tie against Wolves in January 2008. He took over as caretaker manager at Watford on 4 November 2008 following the departure of Aidy Boothroyd.[6] but his spell in charge lasted just 5 games after former Chelsea reserve coach Brendan Rodgers was appointed on a long term basis by then Watford chairman Graham Simpson.
After Brendan Rodgers resigned in June 2009, Mackay took over as the manager of Watford. Watford drew 1–1 on their league visit to Reading on 26 September 2009, and by their second meeting late in the season Rodgers had been dismissed by Reading after only a few months in charge.[7][8] As for Mackay and Watford, 2009–10 was a difficult season where their Championship status was under threat for a long time, but by the end of April survival had been achieved, ironically against Reading.[9]
During the 2010–11 season, Mackay was linked with the assistant manager's job at Premier League side Newcastle United, as well as with the managers job at fellow Championship side Burnley.[10] In March 2011, Mackay, along with assistant manager Sean Dyche, signed a deal at Watford to extend their respective tenures at the club by a further three-and-a-half years.[11] Watford ended the season 14th in the Football League Championship.
On 15 June 2011, Cardiff made an approach for Mackay, but Watford released a statement saying that they declined permission for the Welsh club to speak to him.[12] The following day, Watford gave Cardiff the permission to speak to Mackay following a decision made by Lawrence Bassini and the Watford board. It is believed this discussion was about Mackay admiration for a higher wage and thus the desire to leave Watford.[13][14] Mackay's appointment was formally announced on 17 June 2011, where he signed a three year contract and Watford were paid an undisclosed fee (believed to be around £300,000) in compensation.[15] His competitive reign began with a 1-0 win over West Ham United. On 6 October, Mackay was nominated for the September Championship Manager of the Month award after being undeafted in September, which was ended by a 2-1 loss to Hull City on 1 October.[16] He missed out on the award to Middlesbrough's Tony Mowbray. He lead Cardiff to their first League Cup semi-final finals in 46 years, following wins over Burnley and Blackburn Rovers.[17] An unbeaten November for Cardiff lead to Mackay being named Championship Manager of the Month for November.[18]
During his sixth and final season at Norwich, at the age of 32, Mackay became the oldest man to make his debut for Scotland in 37 years.[19] It came in a 1–0 defeat to Denmark; Mackay later played in a 1–0 victory over Estonia and a 4–1 win against Trinidad & Tobago. In total, Mackay won five caps for Scotland.[20]
| Team | Nation | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Watford (caretaker) | England | 4 November 2008 | 24 November 2008 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 40.00 |
| Watford | England | 15 June 2009 | 17 June 2011 | 99 | 33 | 25 | 41 | 33.33 |
| Cardiff City | Wales | 17 June 2011 | Present | 30 | 16 | 10 | 4 | 53.33 |
| Total | 134 | 51 | 36 | 47 | 38.06 | |||
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Neil Emblen |
Norwich City Captain 2001–2002 |
Succeeded by Iwan Roberts |
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