Austin MacPhee is hard to miss. With his blond hair and keen eye for detail, he stands out as he steps from the dugout to organise a set-piece.
His appearance has sometimes drawn more attention than his work, particularly during his time in Scotland, when he faced criticism while serving as Hearts caretaker manager and was considered for the permanent role in 2019.
Michael O’Neill, who worked with MacPhee for six years as Northern Ireland manager, was quick to defend his assistant from that scrutiny.
“Austin brings a high level of knowledge on the opposition, a creative way to train and he’s creative in how he brings information to the players,” O’Neill said.
MacPhee played a key role in Northern Ireland’s memorable qualification for Euro 2016 under O’Neill.
At the time, he was also part of Hearts’ coaching staff, while running a sports travel company and a community football club.
Two years earlier, he had been scouting for Mexico at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
It has been anything but a conventional football career.
As a player, MacPhee’s path took him from Forfar Athletic’s youth system to US college soccer with the Wilmington Seahawks, before spells in Romania and Japan.
His coaching career has been equally varied, beginning with Cupar Hearts, where he guided the side to the Scottish Amateur Cup final.
After roles with Cowdenbeath, St Mirren and Hearts, he spent a year at Midtjylland, a club now widely recognised for its expertise in set-piece coaching.
Although he moved away from Scotland’s domestic game, MacPhee later spent three years with Steve Clarke’s national team, helping Scotland qualify for Euro 2024.
Clarke and MacPhee were involved in a touchline disagreement during the tournament in Germany, but the Scotland manager later played it down, joking: “He’s got long blonde hair, but I’m not going to give him a cuddle.”