Wick manager praises 200-goal Macadie as 'professional through and through'
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Manager Tom McKenna hailed Richard Macadie as “professional through and through” after the attacking midfielder brought his goal tally in competitive games for Wick Academy to 200.
Macadie (32) is the club’s record scorer and he reached the double century with a goal in each half during Saturday’s 4-1 Highland League victory over Fort William at Harmsworth Park.
“Richard just doesn’t stop. His enthusiasm is unbelievable,” McKenna said afterwards. “He still wants to play, he still wants to be involved.
“The football club means a lot to Richard. For me, he’s professional through and through.
“He has been here a long time and he’s the leading scorer, so to get his 200th goal at the start of a new year is fantastic for him.”
McKenna looks upon Macadie and other long-serving players such as Gary Manson and Davie Allan as role models for younger members of the squad.
“I think they’re in the same mould, Gary, Davie and Richard – they’re ultimate professionals,” McKenna said. “They look after themselves, the club means a lot to them, and they take a lot of pride in what they do.”
McKenna has set his team the challenge of gathering as many points as possible from now to the end of the season and getting themselves up the league table.
While pleased with the win on Saturday, he acknowledged that the young Fort William side – featuring six players on loan from Caley Thistle – had contributed a lot to the game.
“They started off quite brightly and I thought we scored two goals against the run of play,” McKenna said.
“We went a bit flat and allowed them to play. We gave them too much space and time.
“They’re young professionals and they are technically very gifted players. If you give them time and space they are going to cause you problems.
“I don’t know if they’re training every day but their sharpness and fitness levels are going to be very high.
“I thought we weren’t effective enough off the ball and when we were on it I thought we gave it away too easily.”
If you give them time and space they are going to cause you problems.
At half-time, with Fort having reduced the deficit to 2-1, McKenna urged his players to press higher.
“I told them to compete more for the first balls and be more proactive on the second balls. I just wanted us to keep the ball a bit longer,” he said.
“I thought our retention of the ball was poor today. Sometimes we blame the pitch but they [Fort William] were able to do it.
“We were a wee bit better in the second half. We got tighter to them and made it difficult for them.
“With all due respect they’re a good team, good young lads. They try to do the right things and play football the right way, and I’ve got to give them a lot of credit.
“But for us it’s three points, it’s job done, and it sets us up nicely for the second half the season.”
