BILLY McKINLAY has had better weeks. Sacked as assistant manager to Davie Moyes at Real Sociedad following a string of poor results and performances, the pair were roundly castigated in the local media – and by those closer to home – for their reluctance to embrace Basque culture and traditions.

However, McKinlay claims it is a distorted picture of his life in "fantastic" San Sebastian and says the notion that he had given up on attempts to learn the language is similarly wide of the mark. He dismisses the idea, too, that he and Moyes were some kind of closed-minded Brits abroad, bunkered down in a luxurious hotel.

The former Dundee United, Blackburn Rovers and Scotland midfielder, said: “It’s difficult to pick up a new skillset in a short space of time. I went to college twice a week and the manager took lessons twice a week. We invested fully in the job. It’s wrong for anyone to suggest otherwise.

“From my point of view, I attended ‘school’ more in the past year than I did when I should have been there as a teenager. During the close season, I continued to take lessons three times a week. The new language really made me think every day about what I was going to say to the players and how I was going to say it. I had to be more concise about how I got my message across. I felt it polished me up a little bit.

“That’s another reason why I will continue to take lessons. I’m not giving up now. We also socialised around the city. We were made to feel very welcome by the locals. We appreciated that. It was a fantastic place to live.”

For all the disappointment at how their one-and-a-half-year sojourn ended prematurely and the ensuing fall-out, McKinlay says he will recall his time in the Basque capital with genuine fondness.

“It was a great experience," he said. "Real Sociedad is a great club and it was great to come up against some outstanding footballing sides. The big boys are something special. Real; Madrid and Barca are the obvious ones but Atletico Madrid is also a major force and then you have Valencia, Villarreal and Sevilla.

“To work with the manager in the past year has been an incredible experience. What he has taught me has been brilliant. I feel fortunate to have been exposed to that.”

With a decade of experience working as first-team coach and assistant manager at Fulham, McKinlay was a gaffer but was brutally axed by Watford 14 months ago after eight days in charge.

He maintains a desire for another crack at some stage, preferably as a No.1 and McKinlay points to his cv as evidence of a coaching career that has been enriched by the men he has served as a deputy, so much so that he believes he would be more than capable of doing the job himself.

“What is your definition of experience? I’ve been assistant manager to Martin Jol, Michael O’Neill and David Moyes at club and at international level. Just because I’ve not managed early in my coaching career, doesn’t mean I won’t have the ability to manage later in my career.

“Look at Steve Clarke? He worked under some of the best such as Dalglish, Mourinho, Zola and Robson. If that’s not learning about what’s required then I don’t know what is.

“Now, I’ve just had a masterclass under David Moyes. I should be able to put that to good use. It’s something we’ll hopefully find out further down the line.

“I’m not so sure I would swap the experiences I’ve had in the past six or seven years working under different managers, particularly David, for a year in management earlier in my career. I don’t think I would have received the same level of education.

“I know there is a different skillset required between being number two and being the main man. A manager is under constant scrutiny but we should never lose sight of the importance of preparing the team for the match on a Saturday.

"So, we’ll wait and see what’s next. The Watford job was so short-lived. I always had a desire to be a manager and that is still there. What the Watford experience hammered home was that I’m not sure having a long-term plan is workable in the modern day game because most managers are now only four or five bad results away from being shown the door. It’s ridiculous.”

Despite the disappointment of losing their jobs, Moyes and McKinlay can hold their heads up. When they took over a year ago, the team sat in 15th place, tipped for relegation. They steered la Real to a 12th place finish on 46 points, just three points from a top 10 spot.

They had a memorable victory against Barcelona along the way and this was all done without adding a single player to the squad in the January transfer window.

Ultimately, the restrictions Moyes had to work under in the market during the summer played a part in his downfall. With virtually both arms tied behind his back, he had to focus on signing players of Basque origin or promoting players from the B team even though they were not ready. But he had little choice because of the bizarre policy.

But the players were excellent professionals and they enjoyed working with them. Moyes and McKinlay also embraced the local culture and, despite reports to the contrary, did go all out to learn the language.

ENDS