Following on from the appointment of Scotland Men’s National Team Head Coach Sébastien Pocognoli, his backroom staff and Scotland Under-21 coaches Tony Docherty and Steven Naismith, we can announce a new-look Scotland Men’s National Youth Team coaching line-up.

All of the new coaches will be called National Youth Team Coaches, as opposed to being designated a permanent age group, as they will work collaboratively as a team, across all age groups ensuring a full knowledge of the Scotland pathway, enhancing out talent identification process, and ensuring a clear alignment and Scotland DNA from Pocognoli down through our teams. Tam Courts will join the Scottish FA on a full-time basis and his initial designation is to take charge of the Under-19s, where he will be assisted by Lee Wallace.

Courts joins from Al-Qadsiah in Saudi Arabia, where he doubled up as Under-21 Head Coach and Head Coach (Professional Development Phase). He made his name in Scottish football as manager of Kelty Hearts, before impressing as Head Coach at Dundee United and making the move to Hungary with Budapest Honvéd. Wallace picked up 10 senior caps for Scotland from a distinguished playing career that saw him represent Heart of Midlothian, Rangers and Queens Park Rangers. In recent years he has made a name for himself as an up-and-coming coaching talent who is currently back at Tynecastle Park as transition coach, managing their talents between Academy and first team. David McCallum also joins the Scottish FA in a full-time capacity and will initially look after Scotland’s Under-17s, alongside Jonny Hayes. McCallum is a former Queen’s Park Academy Director and was credited with playing an influential role in the development of Scotland captain Andy Robertson. After spells with the Irish Football Association and Scottish FA, working in Coach Education, McCallum spent more than a decade with Rangers – latterly as Interim Academy Director. Celtic B Team coach Hayes will be well known to Scottish football supporters after productive stints as a player for Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Aberdeen (twice) and Celtic. Like Wallace, he also brings international experience having played for the Republic of Ireland. Rhys McCabe arrives at Barclays Hampden initially working with the Under-16s, on the back of a stand-out breakthrough coaching role as player-manager of Airdrieonians. McCabe secured promotion to the SPFL Championship and won the Scottish Challenge Cup in season 2023-24, and earned a reputation for implementing a clear, attractive style of play. A former Scotland Under-21 international, his playing career included time with Rangers, Sheffield Wednesday, Dunfermline Athletic, Brechin City and Queen of the South before a productive move to the Excelsior Stadium. McCabe will be supported by existing Scottish FA coaches James Grady and Stephen Clarke, who - in addition to the work within the Scottish FA’s JD Performance School set-up - will initially lead an exciting new programme for our Under-15s and new Under-14s squads, while both will also take on new opportunities supporting our older age-group squads. Also joining the National Youth Team coach group is Peter Leven, who will assist across all age groups, while supporting our new talent ID process. Leven made over 300 career appearances as a player in Scotland and England in addition to playing international football for Scotland at Under-21 level. He experience as a coach covers talent development at Academy level in England, as well as first team coaching roles in Belarus and Russia, while he also returned to Aberdeen where he led the club as caretaker manager on three occasions. Neil MacFarlane – currently first-team coach at Brentford in English Premier League – will also continue the excellent work he has done with the Scotland, now working across several of the national youth team squads in a part-time capacity, providing his wealth of experience at the elite end of the game to our coaches and players. Graeme Smith remains Goalkeeping Coach for the Under-21s, and is also in charge of our national goalkeeping pathways work. The Scottish FA’s Chief Football Officer, Craig Mulholland, said: “I am delighted to have such a diverse group of coaches working together and complementing one another’s skillsets for the overall benefit of our best talents. “This is an exciting new era, with an exciting group of coaches. “We will now work tirelessly with Sébastien and his staff to ensure a new Scotland team identity and way of working is fully aligned across all our age-groups. “I would also like to thank Hearts, Celtic and Brentford for allowing Lee, Jonny and Neil to work with us during the international breaks.”