Shelley Kerr has been named as the new Scotland Head Coach and will replace Anna Signeul after the Euros.

Kerr will be charged with trying to get Scotland to their first ever World Cup, and they will discover their World Cup Qualifying Group later this month, with Scotland as second seeds.

During her playing career, Kerr won 59 caps for her country, scoring three times as well as captaining the side numerous times.

A dream come true

Whilst several names were tipped as potential appointments, with the Scottish FA (SFA) believed to be looking for a Scottish woman, Shelley Kerr was the standout candidate. In 2013 she earned her UEFA Pro Licence, the highest coaching certification available, and recently completed an MSc in Sports Management at Stirling University.

She spoke about her pride of being announced as Scotland Head Coach, adding, “As a young girl, and being extremely passionate about Scotland, it was my ambition to represent my country and now to get the opportunity to lead the women’s national team is a dream come true.”

Ambitious and aspiring coach

Kerr describes herself as an “ambitious” and “aspiring coach”, and she has already made UK history when in 2014 she was appointed as manager of the Lowland League side Stirling University – the first female manager in the UK to manage a men's senior team. In her time in charge of the club, she has led them to the British Universities Championship Final, as well as consistently finishing in the top five of the Lowland League.

She described her three seasons at Stirling as “extremely beneficial to my personal and professional development”, and praised the coaching staff. Kerr also was highly complimentary on the impact on women's football in Scotland that her predecessor has had on the game.

Looking ahead, Kerr stated, “we have a great group of players and my goal is to continue the good work and sustain the level of success that the team has achieved in recent years.”

Outstanding candidate

The SFA Performance Director, Malky Mackay, praised Kerr, describing her as the “outstanding candidate” for the job. He explained that she was, “a deep thinker of the game but also has a huge passion for football and that shone through during the interview process.”

Kerr has already worked for the SFA, first as Regional Development Officer and later as Technical and Development Programme Manager for Girls’ and Women's Football. She was in charge of Scotland Under-19s between 2009 and 2013, leading them to qualify for the 2010 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship.

Whilst Scotland finished bottom of their group, they picked up their first ever point at the competition as they fought from 3-1 down to draw 3-3 with Italy. She was also part of the Scotland coaching team that helped Scotland reach the 2009 Euro Qualifying Play-offs.

Career to date

She has played for Hibernian, Kilmarnock and Spartans during her playing career as she won every single trophy in Scotland, as well as having a highly successful management career.

Her first three management roles with Kilmarnock, Hibernian and Spartans took place whilst she was still playing.

After the time with the Scotland Under-19s, she took charge of Arsenal, winning the WSL Cup and FA Cup twice in her 16 months in charge.

Recently, she has been a pundit for BBC Alba for Scotland internationals and the 2016 SSE Scottish Cup Final.

Signeul had previously announced back in January that she would leave Scotland after twelve impressive years in charge, after leading the country into their major debut tournament.