The Scottish FA have announced changes to the national youth teams coaching set-up as part of performance strategy succession planning.
Scot Gemmill, who led Scotland to three successive UEFA European Under-17 Championship finals, will take charge of the Scotland under-21 team for their remaining European Championship qualifiers and for the 2017-2019 campaign.
Ricky Sbragia will continue to work with the national youth teams from under-16 through to under-19 level and will also assist in mentoring the Scottish FA’s Performance School coaches and lower-age national youth team coaches.
With Scotland out of contention for a place at next summer’s UEFA Under-21 European Championship Finals in Poland, the changes will provide Scot with the opportunity to continue working with many of the players that reached the under-17 finals in 2014, 2015 and 2016, some of whom he worked with at under-19 level last season.
The draw for the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying round is expected to take place in February, with players born in 1996 and later eligible to participate.
Scot Gemmill said: “I am very proud to have been given the opportunity to coach the under-21s.
“After working with the under-17s and under-19s, I feel ready for and excited by the challenge ahead.
“I believe we have a number of very talented young players coming through and I will do everything I can to support their development and prepare them for the senior squad.
“Ricky Sbragia has been invaluable to my own personal development and is a driving force behind these changes, so I would like to thank him for his support.
“We have less than a year to prepare for the start of the next European Championship qualifiers and the hard work will begin in October for the matches against Iceland and FYR Macedonia.”
Ricky Sbragia said: “It was disappointing to miss out on a place at next summer’s European Championship but succession planning is something we have discussed for a while at the Scottish FA and it was always the intention for Scot to move to the 21s for the next campaign.
“Scot is a very talented coach and deserves the chance to make the step up to under-21 level and work with the players he knows well from under-17 and under-19 level.
“I enjoyed working with the under-21s and feel proud to have helped provide Gordon Strachan with a number of players for his senior squad.
“I am looking forward to the challenge of working with our younger age groups and helping develop our Performance School and national youth team coaches.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
