Dan MacKay opens up on Hibs plan, Lee Johnson talks, managerial upheaval and progress at Inverness

Hibs don’t have a game this weekend, giving Lee Johnson a rare opportunity to see what Daniel MacKay can do on the big stage before talks with the winger about his future this summer.

The 22-year-old, on loan for the season at Inverness Caledonian Thistle, says the Scottish Cup semi-final against Falkirk at Hampden on Saturday is the biggest game of his life and there’s every chance his home-town club will also be involved in the Premiership play-offs in the weeks ahead too. Big games are coming thick and fast.

MacKay didn’t agree at the time with Johnson’s decision last summer to send him out on loan again, but has reaped the rewards and appreciates that regular game-time in the Championship has done him the world of good. He is anticipating talks with Johnson in the summer and intends to challenge for a place in the first-team squad at Hibs next season.

“That was also my intention coming back last summer,” he says, after spending the second half of last season on loan at Kilmarnock. “Obviously the club had different ideas. I look back on it and understand now that going out on loan and getting more games was probably the best thing they could have done for me.

Daniel MacKay has played regularly for Inverness in the Championship this season, but intends to fight for a place at Hibs when he returns. Picture: Craig Foy / SNS

Johnson talks

“Hopefully, the gaffer has seen me a bit more in clips or whatever and he’ll have a good idea what he wants to do with me. But I would always back myself to do well and hopefully I’ll get that chance eventually. If it comes then I need to take it.

“I’ve still got another two years left at Hibs after this year, so I’ll go back in the summer and hopefully this loan spell will help me kick on.”

Hibs loans manager Eddie May is in contact with Mackay, but conversations and time with Johnson himself have been limited. “Eddie was in contact a lot at the start of the season,” MacKay explains. “He would mention things I could probably work on, which I imagine came from the gaffer. But as the season has gone on it has quietened down and they’ve just let me get on with things. Eddie now phones me about once a month to update me on everything, so as far as I know I’ll be back in the summer, depending on when we finish our season.

Daniel Mackay played in the Europa Conference League qualifiers against Santa Coloma in July 2021. Picture: Ross Parker / SNS

“Last summer I was only with the gaffer for about two weeks before Hibs went on the pre-season trip to Portugal. I went on loan that week to Inverness. So I’ve had a few conversations but not many of late. Hibs have had pressures to deal with this season, and it’s the same with me. I’ve had a lot going on at Inverness. I think it will be an end-of-season discussion and we’ll go from there.”

Hibs upheaval

MacKay was signed by Jack Ross on a four-year contract from Inverness in the summer of 2021. He’s only played a total of 96 minutes for Hibs over six appearances, all of them in July and August immediately after joining. Three of those games were in the Europa Conference League, Mackay scoring the winner – and his only Hibs goal – four minutes after coming off the bench in the 2-1 win away to Andorran outfit Santa Coloma.

An ankle injury forced him to miss the first half of the season and when he returned to full fitness in January he was sent out on loan for the rest of the season to Kilmarnock, who were in the Championship. He didn’t play as often as he had expected.

Hibs manager Lee Johnson

Shaun Maloney came and went in Edinburgh during MacKay’s five-month stint in Ayrshire and when Hibs appointed Johnson, he was sent out on loan again. All the managerial changes at Hibs have made things unsettling.

“It probably has been unhelpful,” agrees MacKay. “There have been three managers since I’ve been at the club. As a young, new player at the club trying to settle in from Inverness and get going, that has been difficult.

“The new manager hadn’t seen me play before or heard much about me, so it has been difficult in that sense. But I’ve enjoyed every minute I’ve spent at Hibs so far. It’s just a case of me getting on the pitch and hopefully getting the chance to prove to the fans and everyone why I was bought almost two years ago.”

MacKay is confident he will be ready after playing more first-team football this season than any other in his career. His younger brother is in the squad and his family are nearby. It’s been a very productive campaign.

Dan MacKay notched two assists in ICT's 2-0 victory over Raith Rovers at Stark's Park

How he’s improved

“Yes, definitely,” he agrees. “Unfortunately at Kilmarnock last year I didn’t play as often as I would have liked. When it came to a discussion about where I’d go back out on loan, I thought coming back up the road would be the best choice. Thankfully, it has worked out well. I’ve played just under 40 games this season, which can only benefit me. I’ve been happy enough with my form. I could score more goals, but I’ve probably had the most assists I’ve ever had in a season.

“It’s a weird thing to say as a forward, but I’ve probably improved my defensive positioning, being in the right areas at the right time to help out my full-back when needed. I’ve been working on that and it helps me in an attacking sense as well by being in the right position and being able to break on teams. My end product going forward has improved a lot as well because I’ve been in those situations a lot more often.”

With Elie Youan’s loan expiring and Aiden McGeady struggling with injury at the tail-end of his career, does he see a vacancy in Johnson’s squad for a left winger at Hibs? “You need to take your opportunities when they come,” he replies. “You never know what will happen. I might be given an opportunity. They might bring in a few boys and I might be the third option or whatever. I just need to go into pre-season and prove myself and hopefully that will be enough to get a chance.”

MacKay’s message for the Hibs fans is simply this: “You’ve not seen the best of me yet and hopefully they will get to see the best of me at some point.”