Malky Mackay was probably one of the last people Kyle Turner wanted to see as he arrived at the airport looking to forget about football for a while.
The midfielder was still processing his disappointment after Partick Thistle had somehow failed to win promotion through the playoffs from what had seemed a near unassailable position.
Seeing Mackay, the man who had masterminded Ross County’s great escape act, served as a reminder of a memory Turner was desperate to forget.
The 25 year-old couldn’t have known – and wouldn’t have expected – then that this would ultimately prove to be the most serendipitous of encounters.
Mackay had clearly seen enough in both legs of the playoff to wonder if Turner might be someone who could improve his own side.
And, so, in a neat twist, it would end up being the club that had initially denied Turner his dream of playing Premiership football who would then go on to fulfil it.
The former Dunfermline player explained: “I went to Dubai with my mate and the gaffer was on the same flight as me. We then got to our hotel and checked in and he came in behind us as he was staying in the same place!
“There had been no conversations at all about a move at that point. And then about three or four days into the holiday we had a chat and he asked if I would be interested in coming up to sign.
“And it snowballed from there. I didn’t expect that when I went on holiday! I had gone away not really knowing what the future was going to hold for me. I’d had a good season at Thistle and it was a tough one leaving there.
“I had two good years there and the gaffer was great with me when he came in there. There were a great bunch of boys there. But the attraction of going to play in the top league was too good to turn down. I wanted to test myself against the best teams in the country.
“Playing against County at the end of last season was obviously bitter-sweet. What happened at the is not something I really want to talk about. It still stings a bit. That was a tough one at the time but I’m just happy to be here now.”
Turner took soundings from team-mates Brian Graham and Richard Foster about their County experiences before agreeing to make the move. But it is dad, Tommy, the former St Johnstone and St Mirren midfielder, who continues to provide the most regular and reliable counsel.
“He’s been brilliant,” said Kyle of his dad. “He comes everywhere with me, goes to every single game all over the country. He only missed one game last year and it was because he was on holiday. He’ll come to every Ross County game at home and away, I’ve no doubts about that. We chat after every game and he tells me how it was, good or bad. It’s good to have that. He played the game and he watches it from above so he’s a great person to take advice from.
“The club have sorted me out with a house up there and it means my family can come up and stay the night before a game which is great. It’s more homely rather than my dad coming up to stay in a hotel.”
Turner’s first competitive appearance for his new club took him back to where it all started for him professionally, Stranraer.
The performance and result – as County opened their Viaplay Cup campaign with a 5-1 win with Simon Murray claiming a hat-trick – vindicated his decision to make the switch.
“That was the perfect start for us as a team,” he added. “We knew it was going to be tough going down there just from my time there as a Stranraer player. But the boys applied themselves well and got the result we wanted.
“It was just good to get an early goal and settle the game down. We knew Stranraer would come at us in the first 15 to 20 minutes so if we could get a goal it would take the momentum away from them.”
“I still think we could have been better on Saturday and we said that in the dressing room after the game. We can be a bit sharper against the top teams and we need to be ready for that.
“The signings that we’ve brought in know Scottish football and that should stand us in good stead.”
