Filed under: Football
Malky Mackay, the man Cardiff have appointed as the replacement for Dave Jones, certainly knows all about getting promotion to the Premier League, although staying there is another matter.For three successive seasons as a player - and with three different clubs - the Scot helped his employers climb out of the Championship, a feat that has so far eluded the Bluebirds despite numerous near misses.
Now the man who was discarded by Norwich and West Ham after the first two promotions but kept on by Watford, where he became manager, must help Cardiff overcome whatever disabilities, physical or mental, are preventing them from joining English football's elite. And perhaps Swansea if they can stay up.
It is no mean task of course, as Jones found to his cost.
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"I see a club with massive ambition," Mackay declared on his unveiling. "I've coached against them, and managed against them, and I realise the passion and commitment that comes from this part of the world and the fervent support that this club has.
"I see an excellent infrastructure, a great new stadium, good training facilities and a club that's going places."
The 39-year-old agreed a three-year contract that was much more financially rewarding than the one he had been given at Vicarage Road, the home of one of the Championship's poorer relations. The Hornets have been consoled by a compensation payment estimated at around £300,000.
Cardiff had previously held talks with former England skipper Alan Shearer, a bigger name than Mackay but inexperienced as a manager by comparison, although the Scot's own career in the dugout only dates back to July 2009 when Brendan Rodgers left Watford for an ill-fated spell at Reading.
Rodgers, of course, went on to take Swansea up so the onus is on the new man in the Welsh capital to end Cardiff's lengthy exile from the top flight.
Mackay demonstrated at Watford an ability to keep the team competitive against rivals who had much bigger financial muscles to flex. Often he did this through astute signings, with Martin Taylor an example. The huge defender's career had been in limbo at Birmingham following the incident that saw him break the leg of Arsenal's Eduardo and he has been a great success as a Hornet.
But crucially Mackay has also demonstrated that he can use the loan market to his advantage. In his first season relegation was avoided thanks to the contributions of two young Engkland Under-21 international midfielders, Henri Lansbury of Arsenal and Manchester United's Tom Cleverley. Last season, a number of other top flight loanees were brought in to bolster a campaign that saw striker danny Graham - now at Swansea - grab the headlines with his goals.
It is no surprise therefore that Mackay is already talking about bringing Craig Bellamy back to Cardiff after the Manchester City striker returned to his home city for a loan spell last season.
Cardiff have identified in Mackay a young manager who has so far shown himself to work effectively despite financial restrictions - although Bluebird fans will be hoping he still remembers the recipe for promotion he had off pat as a player.
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Source: http://www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/06/17/cardiff-hope-malky-mackay-still-has-the-midas-touch/
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