Former Scotland assistant coach Austin MacPhee is set to join Xabi Alonso’s backroom team at Chelsea after agreeing a move from Aston Villa.
The 46-year-old will become the club’s specialist set-piece coach following a five-year stint in Birmingham.
He said his farewells to Villa staff on Friday and will link up with the likes of Morgan Rogers — who last week completed his move to Stamford Bridge for £117million — at the Premier League billionaires.
MacPhee — who worked alongside Portugal manager Roberto Martinez at this summer’s World Cup — has built a stellar reputation in the game, playing a key role in Villa’s recent success both at home and on the continent under Unai Emery, culminating in last season’s Europa League triumph.
Having teamed up with Danny Lennon at Cowdenbeath and St Mirren at the start of his career, MacPhee was appointed assistant to Michael O’Neill with Northern Ireland in June 2014, where he was first given responsibility for set-pieces.
That decision would prove to be a masterstroke, with the team scoring 11 goals from set plays in 10 games to qualify for Euro 2016, where they reached the last 16 before being knocked out by Wales.
Set-piece coach Austin MacPhee directs Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo at the World Cup
MacPhee has followed Morgan Rogers in leaving Villa for Chelsea, another blow for Unai Emery
He would go on to coach at Hearts under Ian Cathro, before being handed the role of caretaker boss for a brief spell in 2019.
MacPhee was also formerly a member of Steve Clarke’s Scotland staff, helping the country qualify for Euro 2024 before resigning shortly after the tournament to spend more time with family while focusing on his duties at Villa.
‘Austin was great for me,’ said Clarke at the time. ‘He took a lot of workload away with the set-plays as well as being a proficient coach.
‘He felt every defeat badly and he felt every win fantastically, so he’s a big miss for us.’
MacPhee’s latest move will see him tasked with trying to get Chelsea back to the Champions League following a turbulent season in which they finished 10th.
New boss Alonso has been backed heavily by the board this summer, with Rogers’ arrival following that of full-back Marco Palestra, who signed from Serie A side Atalanta at the start of the month for just shy of £18m.
