The Scottish FA have announced the appointment of Neil MacFarlane as the new Scotland Under-19 head coach.

The former Heart of Midlothian midfielder will combine the role with the SFA with his job at Brentford. He has been head coach of the English Premier League side's B team since 2019 having previously assisted Steven Pressley and Robbie Neilson during their managerial careers.

MacFarlane, who is currently undertaking his UEFA Pro Licence, takes over from the retired Billy Stark, and will be assisted by the ex-Rangers and Kilmarnock winger Chris Burke. The new coaching team will start with friendlies against Azerbaijan, Faroe Islands and the Netherlands in Spain next month.

"It's a really proud moment and I'm delighted to be given the opportunity," he told the Scottish FA's website. "I never got to represent Scotland as a player, so it's an honour to do it as a coach of this vital age group. 

"I think the role has many similarities to my role at Brentford. I'd been working at first teams for a number of years when I took on this position five years ago to look after young talent and to get them ready for our first team. This job with Scotland is very similar and that's what attracts me to it. I've got to develop players, give them my experiences, push them and make demands of them and hopefully push them into the Under-21s and into the full squad.

"I know that at international level I won't have as long with the players as I do at club level but I have a lot of experiences with tours and extended breaks so I know how to maximise the time periods.

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"I have a huge belief in young players and I've always had that, even when I worked at clubs as an assistant. I always wanted to give them chances in the first team.

"I've come up against a number of these players and watched a lot of them over the years. I'm looking forward to getting more of a look at them over this camp. I think there's real talent in the group. It's about identifying their strengths but also identifying what's missing so I can help them. It's only a short period of time but it's an important time.”