Walter Smith - the new coach of Scotland © EuroFootball.com

On Thursday, the Scottish Football Federation (SFA) announced that Walter Smith has become the new coach of the Scottish national football team. The coach is officially supposed to be presented today.

The former Glasgow strategist will replace the previous manager of the Scottish team, German Bert Vogts, who left the team in November after leading the team to only two points in three World Cup qualifying matches. Smith has signed a four-and-a-half year contract with SFA.

The 56-year-old Smith, who led Glasgow Rangers to six Scottish championship titles in seven years, moved to Liverpool's Everton in 1998, where he stayed until 2002. Last season, Smith worked as an assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson at the club.

Former Bert Vogts' assistant Tommy Burns will continue in the same role. It is worth mentioning that after Vogts' resignation, Burns temporarily led the Scottish team, which lost 4-1 to the Swedish team in a friendly match.

"Walter asked me to stay and continue in the same position as I held when Vogts was in charge of the team," Burns told uefa.com. "I am very happy to stay, as I have always wanted to work for the good of Scottish football."

Walter Smith's first official match as coach of the Scottish national team will be on March 26 against one of the strongest European teams - the Italian national team.