This week marked the start of the Under-21 European Championships in Prague and although Scotland won’t be there, our UEFA Pro & A Licence teams will be.

Scottish FA Director of Football Development Jim Fleeting is in the Czech capital along with some of Largs’ most promising coaches as they analyse the tournament’s group stages.

Participants include some of Scottish football’s biggest names and a number of current managers and coaches. English Championship play-off winner Alex Neil is with the group along with Hearts coach Robbie Neilson – who won the Scottish Championship – and our very own Performance Director Brian McClair.

The team will attend five group stage games before heading back to base to compare notes and coaching techniques.

Speaking ahead of the trip Fleeting told the Scottish FA: “Hopefully these guys will gain ideas from watching matches and benefit from other people’s contributions.

“I hope we can learn from one-another through analysing other games especially at this high level -that’s very important to us. The idea of sharing ideas and thoughts is so important. I’m delighted to bring such a big group to the finals with the support of UEFA.

“I’m personally looking forward to the competition as a whole and the chance to compare some very talented players.”

The European Championships kicked-off off on Wednesday with wins for Portugal, Sweden and Denmark in the openers. The tournament will culminate in the showpiece final at Prague’s Eden Arena on June 30th.