He’ll combine his role as Brentford B boss to pick up the youth team reigns from Billy Stark who quit earlier this summer.
The veteran has retired after an illustrious career playing at Celtic and Aberdeen as well as managing St Johnstone, Morton, Queen’s Park and then national youth sides.
But Macfarlane has worked his fair share of illustrious names too at the Premiership side’s back-up squad.
He took charge of a team full of famous kids, with one name in particular catching the eye at the Bees’ – and in the stand.
Under his tutelage Brentford’s youngsters won the Premier League Cup in 2023 – with David Beckham’s SON in the squad.
Romeo was a loan signing from Inter Miami before penning a full-time deal in West London that summer.
Becks even climbed over a fence in a low-key bid to take in his son’s debut.
And the Real Madrid and Man Utd great was not alone in being a famous footballing father with a kid in Macfarlane’s set-up.
He was by far the biggest though.
Aaron Pressley, son of Scotland international Steven, and Paul Dickov’s son Max were also in the mix – as were the offspring of Premier League veterans Kevin Lisbie and Jason Wilcox.
Now Macfarlane is taking on the next generation of Scotland stars – and will name his first squad later this week for friendlies with Azerbaijan, the Netherlands and Faroe Islands, which will be held in Spain.
He’ll be assisted by former Rangers, Cardiff and Kilmarnock winger Chris Burke.
Both are currently going through the Uefa Pro Licence course with the SFA.
And Macfarlane, who was also assistant at Falkirk and Coventry City with Steven Pressley, said: “It’s a really proud moment and I’m delighted to be given the opportunity.
“I never got to represent Scotland as a player, so it’s an honour to do it as a coach of this vital age group.
“I think the role has many similarities to my role at Brentford. I’d been working at first teams for a number of years when I took on the position five years ago to look after young talent and to get them ready for our first team.
“This job with Scotland is very similar and that’s what attracts me to it. I’ve got to develop players, give them my experiences, push them and make demands of them and hopefully push them into the Under-21s and into the full squad.”
Speaking to the ScottishFA website he added: “I know that at international level I won’t have as long with the players as I do at club level but I have a lot of experiences with tours and extended breaks so I know how to maximise the time periods.
“I have a huge belief in young players and I’ve always had that, even when I worked at clubs as an assistant. I always wanted to give them chances in the first team.
“I’ve come up against a number of these players and watched a lot of them over the years. I’m looking forward to getting more of a look at them over this camp.
“I think there’s real talent in the group. It’s about identifying their strengths but also identifying what’s missing so I can help them. It’s only a short period of time but it’s an important time.”
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Source: New York Post
