The Scottish set-piece guru is plotting World Cup glory for Portugal

With blonde locks Iggy Pop would be proud of, McPhee stands out when he stands up from the dugout to choreograph a set-piece situation.

His presence was perhaps one of the reasons why he was unfairly criticized during his time in Scotland, particularly when he was Hearts’ caretaker manager and was in the frame to take over the position full-time in 2019.

Michael O’Neill, who worked with McPhee for six years as Northern Ireland boss, feared such an inquiry and passionately defended his then assistant.

“Austin brings a high level of knowledge on the opponent, a creative way of training and is creative in how he brings information to the players,” he said.

McPhee was a key part of Northern Ireland’s historic Euro 2016 qualification under O’Neill.

At the time, the coach was also working in Hearts’ backroom team while running a sports travel firm and a community football club.

Two years ago, he was scouting for Mexico at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Clearly, this is no ordinary football career, if there is such a thing.

A strange journey as a player took him from the youth set-up of Forfar Athletics to US college football with the Wilmington Seahawks, then to Romania and finally to Japan.

His time as a coach was also far from conventional, starting as manager of Cuper Hearts and guiding them to the Scottish Amateur Cup final.

A year at Midtjylland – a club that has become a hotbed for set-piece specialists – followed his spell in Scotland with Cowdenbeath, St Mirren and Hearts.

Although MacPhee has retired from the Scottish domestic game, he will have a three-year stint with Steve Clarke’s national team, helping them qualify for Euro 2024.

Clarke and McPhee got into a pitchside argument during the final in Germany. The head coach saw the incident and said: “She has long blonde hair, but I’m not going to hug her.”