Booth reunited with Wotte as Scots assistant youth coach

The former Aberdeen and Scotland striker Scott Booth has been appointed as the new assistant coach to the national youth teams.

Booth, 39, will be reunited with the Scotland performance director, Mark Wotte – his former manager at Utrecht – in his role with the Victory Shield squad. In addition Booth, who also played for Borussia Dortmund, Utrecht and FC Twente, will play a role within the new national performance schools.

He is currently undertaking his Uefa Pro Licence and has already achieved his A and B licences.

Booth has maintained a high profile as a football pundit on TV and radio since being forced to retire in 2004 at the age of 32 due to injury. His first venture was as an analyst and co- commentator for Setanta, but when they ceased operating, he moved on to work for the BBC, ITV and ESPN as a freelance.

He said: “I am excited by the new performance strategy. I worked under Mark at Utrecht and I know he has ambitious plans for the Scottish FA in the area of elite talent development.

“It is a privilege at this stage of my coaching career to be working alongside Mark with the Victory Shield squad and I look forward to learning from his experience and imparting my own knowledge on the next generation of talented Scots.

“Playing for Scotland was the highlight of my career and nothing would make me happier than playing some part in helping future generations of players fulfil their international ambitions.”

Booth scored six goals in 22 appearances for Scotland and featured in both the Euro 96 and 1998 World Cup squads.

Wotte believes he will be an asset to the national team’s coaching stable, which also includes Ricky Sbragia, Billy Stark and the national coach, Craig Levein. “I have known Scott from his time in Holland when I managed him at Utrecht,” said Wotte. “He was a very talented, technical player and I know he is now a young, hard-working and ambitious coach.

“I am sure many of the younger players will look up to Scott and I will work closely with him in a mentoring capacity to aid his own development.

“I am sure he will be an asset not just to the Victory Shield and other national youth teams but also to our new performance schools.”

Wotte, 51 next week, was appointed as Scotland’s first performance director in the summer.

The Scottish Football Association chief executive Stewart Regan said that he would be asked to “develop a new Scottish style of play” and suggested that the creation of the role was the single most important recommendation in the Review of Scottish Football carried out by former First Minister Henry McLeish.