Former Hearts head coach Steven Naismith has been named as Scotland assistant manager as part of a backroom reshuffle by boss Steve Clark.
John Carver’s departure in March to take charge of Polish side Lechia Gdansk, left Clark searching for a new No. 2, with Naismith getting the nod having previously been assistant for the national team between 2021 and 2023 before being promoted to the main job at Tynecastle.
Leicester City set-piece coach Andrew Hughes is also joining the Scotland camp in a similar role in the wake of Austin MacPhee’s exit, with both new arrivals in place for the upcoming World Cup qualifying campaign.
Clarke said: “I am delighted to have Steven and Andrew with us for the World Cup qualifying campaign.
“Steven has been with us before and brings a real complementary skill set to myself and Alan Irvine.
“He has had opportunities to return to full-time club football, so it says a lot for his pride in the national team that he has agreed to join up with us again.
“I was really impressed by a number of potential candidates we’d spoken to when John left to continue at Lechia Gdansk but the fact we’ve worked together before makes for a seamless transition.
“I am also really pleased to have Andrew with us. He has coached in a variety of roles since retiring from playing but has excelled as set-piece coach at Norwich City and now Leicester City and I am grateful to Marti Cifuentes for allowing Andrew to work with us during the international windows.”
Naismith said: “I am really excited to be rejoining the Scotland men’s national team coaching staff under Steve.
“When I left Hearts, I made a point of not jumping straight back in at the first offer but to reflect on my coaching experiences and wait for something that really excited me.
“When I first spoke to Steve about the possibility of coming back it was a no-brainer: I loved playing for my country, I’ve loved being part of the coaching team previously and I can’t wait to help support the mission to take Scotland to a World Cup again.”
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