David Robert Mackay (born 2 May 1981) is a Scottish former professional football player, who was recently the assistant manager of Dunfermline Athletic. He played as a defender for Dundee, Brechin City, Arbroath, Oxford United, Livingston and St Johnstone. Mackay captained St Johnstone when they won the 2014 Scottish Cup Final. Because of this, he's now regarded as a legend at St Johnstone.
After retiring as a player in 2016, Mackay was then manager of Stirling Albion for two years, before returning to Dundee as first-team coach and then assistant manager alongside manager James McPake and briefly Mark McGhee.
Playing career Dundee Mackay started his senior career at Dundee, where he first gained on loan to Brechin City in the 2000–01 season. Mackay made his debut for the club, starting the whole game, in a 1–0 loss against Hamilton Academical on 3 February 2001. Having become a first team regular at Brechin City, he scored his first goal for the club, in a 3–1 win against Montrose on 16 April 2001. Mackay went on to make sixteen appearances and scoring once in all competitions at Brechin City. At the start of the 2001–02 season, Mackay was loaned out to Arbroath. He went on to make five appearances before returning to his parent club. Reflecting on his loan experiences, Mackay said the move benefited him, stating: "I just wanted to get away and play games".
After gaining loan experience, Mackay returned to Dundee to get a first team recall and made his debut for the Dens, coming on as the 8th-minute substitute for Alessandro Romano, in a 1–0 win against Kilmarnock on 23 September 2001. He then scored his first goal for the club, in a 1–1 draw against Hearts on 23 November 2001. Since returning, Mackay's first-team opportunities increased at Dundee, playing in the right–back position. At the end of the 2001–02 season, Mackay went on to make eighteen appearances and scoring once in all competitions.
In the 2002–03 season, Mackay's playing time increased, as he began rotating in playing either left–back position or right–back position, as well as injuries to other players. On 1 March 2003, Mackay scored his first goal of the season for Dundee, in a 3–1 win against Partick Thistle. He then helped the club reach the Scottish Cup final after beating Inverness CT 1–0 win. Mackay was in the squad for the Scottish Cup final, in a 1–0 loss to Rangers. At the end of the 2002–03 season, he went on to make forty–three appearances and scoring once in all competitions.
Reflecting on his 2003–04 season, Mackay knew that he would be expecting to increase his first team chances at Dundee following the Scottish Cup final. Mackay played four times in the UEFA Cup qualification rounds before the club was eliminated in the first round by Perugia. When Dundee were placed in administration, he was among those kept on, due to his low salary at the time. It was revealed that before administration, Mackay was offered a three-year contract with the club. Despite this, he helped Dundee finish seventh place in the league after the club beat Livingston on 12 May 2004. At the end of the 2003–04 season, Mackay went on to make forty–four appearances in all competitions.
At the end of the 2003–04 season, Mackay was offered a new contract at Dundee on reduced terms. Unfortunately, it announced that he would be likely to leave Dundee when his contract will come to an end. By the time that Mackay left the club, he played over 100 games for the Dark Blues over the course of five seasons at Dens Park.
Oxford United In the summer of 2004, his five-year spell at Dens ended when Mackay was transferred south to Oxford United.
He made his debut for the club, starting the whole game, in a 1–0 loss against Boston United in the opening game of the season. Mackay then helped Oxford kept three consecutive clean sheets in the league between 21 August 2004 and 30 August 2004. Under the management of Graham Rix, he established himself in the first team at Oxford United, playing in the right–back position. MacKay played a role when he set up a goal for Tommy Mooney, in a 1–0 win over Cheltenham Town on 30 October 2004. By the end of his first season at the club, he had made 44 appearances for Oxford United. MacKay have desire to fight for the first team following the arrival of Lee Mansell.
Livingston After desire to coming back to Scotland for family reasons, Mackay returned to Scotland to sign for Livingston.
He made his debut for the club, starting the whole game, in a 3–0 loss against Rangers in the opening game of the season. Since joining Livingston, Mackay became a first team regular for the club, playing in the right–back position. He then scored his first goal for Livingston, scoring an equaliser, in a 2–1 win against Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the quarter-finals of the Scottish League Cup. Mackay's second goal for the club came on 5 March 2006, in a 3–2 loss against Hearts. Despite being almost ever-present player in his first season, Livingston, however, was relegated to Scottish Division One after finishing twelfth place. At the end of the 2005–06 season, he went on to make forty–four appearances and scoring two times in all competitions.
The 2006–07 season saw Mackay scoring in the first four league matches of the season, coming against Queen of the South, Ross County, Partick Thistle and Dundee. He continued to remain in the first team for Livingston, playing in the right–back position. On 13 January 2007, Mackay scored his fifth goal of the season of the season, in a 3–2 win over St Johnstone. A month later on 5 February 2007, he scored the club's only goal of the game, in a 4–1 loss against Celtic in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup. Then on 10 March 2007, Mackay scored his seventh goal of the season, in a 3–1 loss against Airdrie United. However, MacKay was unable to help the club get promoted back to the Scottish Premier League. At the end of the 2006–07 season, he went on to make thirty–nine appearances and scoring seven times in all competitions.
The first two months to the 2007–08 season saw Mackay scoring five times, coming against Ayr United (twice), Dunfermline Athletic, Greenock Morton and Clyde. He continued to remain in the first team for Livingston, playing in the right–back position. Mackay then scored three times throughout November, including Stirling Albion and a brace against Alloa Athletic. On 5 January 2008, he scored his ninth goal of the season, in a 6–1 win over Greenock Morton. In the fifth round replay of Scottish Cup against Partick Thistle, which both teams drew throughout the match, MacKay missed the penalty in the shootout, which eliminated Livingston out of the Scottish Cup. After the match, he expressed disbelief for missing the penalty, having blasted over the bar. On 12 April 2008, Mackay scored his tenth goal of the season, in a 3–1 loss against Hamilton Academical. At the end of the 2007–08 season, with the club finishing seventh place in the league, he went on to make forty–one appearances and scoring ten times in all competitions.
Ahead of the 2008–09 season, Mackay's future with Livingston was in doubt after clubs from the Scottish Premier League made a bid to sign him, only to be rejected by the club. As a result, he admitted to considering a transfer request, but ended up staying at Livingston. Despite the club's unprecedented changes with new owners and managers throughout the 2008–09 season, McKay remained as a key player to the club. MacKay then score his first goal for the club, in a 6–1 loss against Queen of The South on 4 October 2008. His second goal of the season for Livingston came on 22 November 2008, in a 2–1 loss against Partick Thistle. He then scored his third goal of the season, in a 4–2 win over Ross County on 31 January 2009. With the club's recent surroundings, MacKay hope the problem over the wages will be resolved soon. However, he sustained a calf injury that kept him out for four weeks. Mackay then made his return from injury, starting the whole game, in a 1–0 win against Clyde on 3 April 2009. However, his return was short–lived when he suffered a calf injury again during a 2–0 loss against Greenock Morton and was out for the rest of the 2008–09 season. At the end of the 2008–09 season, Mackay went on to make thirty–one appearances and scoring three times in all competitions.
Shortly after the 2008–09 season was concluded, Mackay was linked a move away from Livingston, as he was subjected to a bid, alongside Murray Davidson, from Scottish clubs like Dundee and Motherwell. However, Mackay was reluctant to leave Livingston and intended to stay there unless he received his money he was due in unpaid wages. Despite no intention to leave the club over unpaid wages, MacKay says he was glad to leave Livingston.
St Johnstone In May 2009, Mackay transferred from Livingston to St Johnstone, who had won promotion to the Scottish Premier League. Davidson later revealed that they almost joined Dundee before the Saints won the race to sign the pair. Manager Steve Lomas, stated in the 2012 interview, praised his predecessor for his role of signing both players.
He made his debut for the club, coming on as a 71st-minute substitute, in a 5–0 win over Stenhousemuir the first round of the Scottish League Cup. Fifteen days later on 15 August 2009, Mackay made his league debut for St Johnstone, starting the whole game, in a 2–2 draw against Motherwell. Since joining the club, he became a first team regular in the right-back position, beating off competitions from Gary Irvine. Mackay would then score his first goal for the club, in a 1–1 draw against St Mirren. He also appeared in every matches until he missed two matches due to an injury. Mackay returned on 24 April 2010 from his injury, starting the whole game, in a 1–1 draw against Aberdeen. In his first season at St Johnstone, he went on to make forty–three appearances and scoring once in all competitions. Following this, Mackay signed a two-year contract extension with the club. He revealed that manager Derek McInnes played a role for convincing him to sign a contract. In addition, Mackay was named as PA Sport/Easy Heat Systems player of the year.
Ahead of the 2010–11 season, MacKay was appointed as a vice-captain for St Johnstone. However, in the opening game of the season against Hearts, he started the match despite not fit, due to a back injury and played 54 minutes before being substituted. As a result of being substituted, MacKay was sidelined for three weeks, which he played with a broken back. On 10 September 2010, Mackay returned to the starting line–up and played 76 minutes, in a 2–0 loss against Motherwell. However, he suffered a torn thigh muscle that kept him out for the rest of November. Mackay returned on 10 December 2010 from his injury, starting the whole game, and setting up the first goal, in a 2–1 win over St Mirren. Four weeks later on 2 January 2011, he set up the goal of the game, in a 1–0 win against Inverness CT. Following his return from injury, Mackay described his injuries as "the most frustrating spell in his 12-year career". His return also saw him regain his first team place in the right–back position. Following the club's elimination in the semifinals of the Scottish Cup, he helped the Saints kept three consecutive clean sheets in the last three league matches of the season At the end of the 2010–11 season, Mackay went on to make thirty–nine appearances in all competitions.