He returned to Scotland in 1980 when he was appointed manager of Dundee, winning promotion to the Scottish Premier Division with the club, again in his first season in charge.
Gould was sacked after a poor run of results and Mackay was asked to take charge, where the club staved off relegation by famously winning their last three games of the season, to retain their First Division status.
He then went to work as reserve-team coach at Rangers, alongside ex playing colleague Walter Smith and the manager Graeme Souness.
They narrowly missed the play-offs in his first season in charge, but did win the Full Members Cup, beating First Division Chelsea, Oxford United and Charlton Athletic along the way.
He was employed by Middlesbrough as a scout from December 2001 through to June 2007,[5][6] before moving to join Leicester City under Martin Allen.