Austin MacPhee will be ‘an asset’ to the Scotland national team after his appointment to head coach Steve Clarke’s backroom staff.
MacPhee and goalkeeper coach Chris Woods come in to replace the departing Steven Reid and Stevie Woods. MacPhee is currently set-piece coach at Aston Villa while he also held a role as a coach with Ian Baraclough’s Northern Ireland. Scotland midfielder John McGinn praised his appointment at the English Premier League club.
MacPhee was appointed Aston Villa set-piece coach (Photo by Ewan Bootman/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
He now joins Clarke’s team ahead of three World Cup 2022 qualifiers next month, looking to put Euro 2020 disappointment aside. Scotland exited the major tournament at the group stages. Clarke said: “Austin has major tournament experience with Northern Ireland and I now a respected set-piece coach in England’s Premier League.
“He is a specialist coach and his approach to coaching on the field and use of data off it will be an asset to the existing backroom staff. I said in the dressing room after the Croatia game that we all had to learn lessons from playing at Euro 2020 and to come back stronger.
“I am committed to helping us return to a major tournament as quickly as possible and improving on what we have achieved until now. The players and my staff share that determination and the hard work resumes next month.”
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