Joe McBride has been named as the new Performance School coach for Holyrood Secondary School in Glasgow.

Joe replaces Brian McLaughlin following his recent appointment as national youth team coach and brings with him a wealth of experience having worked at Celtic, Ujpest and Watford, where he worked with Malky Mackay, the Scottish FA’s Performance Director.

He also worked with Malky at Cardiff City as first-team coach and helped the team achieve promotion to the Premier League, and, more recently, coached Hibernian’s under-20 team.

The Performance School programme is about to enter its sixth year with the next batch of young footballers set to begin the four-year programme in August.

Seven schools throughout the country help the best young Scottish talent marry their football education with their normal curriculum as part of the Scottish FA’s commitment to player development through its Performance Strategy.

Each school has a full-time coach to work in conjunction with the clubs and the school to enhance their technical skills at a key stage of their development and support the academic potential of the players.

He said: “I am looking forward to taking up my new role and being part of this important programme.

“We have some very good young players at each of the seven Performance Schools around Scotland and my aim is to help those at Holyrood Secondary School achieve their potential.

“We are already starting to see just how beneficial the programme is to player development, with a number of graduates having signed professional contracts north and south of the border.

“The schools return from the summer holidays next month and I can’t wait to get started.”

Malky Mackay, Scottish FA Performance Director, said: “I am delighted to welcome Joe to the Scottish FA.

“It is important that our most talented young players work with the best coaches and Joe is certainly in that bracket.

“I have worked with him at several clubs and have been impressed with his coaching ability and knowledge of the game.

“The schools are a vital part of the Performance Strategy and I am confident that Joe’s experience can help the participants achieve their potential.”