Moving to Saudi Arabia to join Pro League club Al-Qadsiah two years ago proved to be hugely rewarding for Tam Courts both personally and professionally as well as, it can be safely assumed, financially.
Courts latterly worked under former Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers in his dual role as head coach of the B team and the under-21 team at the Pro League club over in the oil-rich Middle East state.
He relished the challenge of trying to bring through youngsters who were good enough to feature in Rodgers' first team alongside some multi-million pound signings from around the globe and enjoyed immersing himself in a different culture.
But when the ex-Kelty Hearts and Dundee United manager was offered the chance to return to his homeland to head up the Scotland Under-19 side by new SFA performance director Craig Mulholland he did not have to think twice about accepting.
Read more:
- The doctor who did his PhD at Celtic on how more Scots kids can emulate Colby Donovan
- Could a 'creepy' and 'chilling' technology end hooliganism in Scottish football?
- Scottish youth football clubs ignoring new PVG law and risking criminal prosecution
He is optimistic that football in this country, with Sebastien Pocognoli taking over from Steve Clarke as national team head coach and former Rangers youth supremo Mulholland coming in, has a bright future and is eager to be a part of it.
“Al-Qadsiah are owned by Aramco (the Saudi oil company) and Brendan is there now,” said Courts. “They are a rapidly growing club and are very aggressive in the transfer market. I had a wonderful time there, even from a lifestyle perspective, and was under contract for another two years.
“But when Craig got in touch I just felt like it was the right opportunity. I don't have a lot of regrets in my career, but I felt that if I didn't take this opportunity to come back just now that I would regret it. There is a lot of change at this moment in time and I am really excited to be back.
"I always take a long-term approach to my career. I try to be methodical in the opportunities that I choose. I went to Hungary (he was Budapest Honved head coach) first for a different set of reasons and then on to Saudi Arabia. It was a learning experience and gave me everything I was looking for.
"But then the opportunity to come back and work in our own game it was just too big an opportunity for me to turn down. I think this is a really exciting moment for the SFA, for Scottish football.
“I believe that Scottish football generally, especially at A team squad level, is in quite a healthy position. It feels like we're taking the baton on just now and there's a lot of things that we want to achieve."
Courts, whose age-group side has friendlies against their Finnish, Czech and Ukrainian counterparts this month, has extensive experience in the Scottish game as a youth coach and manager and will bring a lot to his new position.
However, he also feels he will be able to draw greatly on what he learned during his stint in Saudi Arabia as well.
"I worked with Brendan for the best part of a year when he arrived,” he said. “We worked in a very aligned fashion. He is a top coach, a top manager, and he is doing a great job over there. He is taking the team to another level in all honesty. He was very generous with his time and we worked in a good way.
"There are a lot of smart football people over there as well. Because it's a kingdom, they recognise authority. The federation are actually very assertive and involved. They rule the roost over there.
Read more:
- Call for Scottish youth football referees to get bodycams amid rise in parent unrest
- Former Rangers and Hearts winger on how he became Scottish football's 'Miracle Man'
- Olympian turned Fun 5s coach wants kids' football reality check after coach headbutt
"The standard is very good. They would probably compare themselves to Brazilians. They're very, very technical. From a tactical perspective, they're really quick on the uptake of information. But they lose information really quickly too.
"They are highly emotional as well. The dark arts are still very prevalent over there. It was a real step back in time. They're emotional, they're aggressive, they love winning. So anything can happen in a moment's notice on the field.
"Going over to Saudi Arabia was like going back 25 or 30 years. They still place a great, great importance on winning from 13 years old, 12 years old, 11 years old. It's one of the few things that they actually recognise over there. It's just a cultural thing.
"So for me it was a really big challenge to balance the development of the players with the need to win. Thankfully we were able to do that because I don't actually believe that development and performance should be mutually exclusive if you've got the right young players and you've nurtured them accordingly."
Courts continued, "In the academy teams you can only have two foreigners. They're very Saudi orientated in the academy structure. The federation are very heavily involved with the players as well.
“At first team level it kind of swings the other way. You'll generally only see maybe one or two Saudis playing in a match. It's very orientated towards the foreigner. The foreigners for sure increase the status of the game, but I'm sure the fans want to see local homegrown talent as well.
" Al-Qadsiah had Nacho, the former Real Madrid and Spain player, they had Tijjani Reijnders, the Dutch midfielder who they spent €70m on, and Julian Quinones, the Mexican striker who was one of the leading scorers at the World Cup during the summer.
"They're a very intelligent football club. As much as they spend incredible amounts of money, they are also very smart in terms of the markets that they're in. They are hoovering up all the best talents over there just now.
"Now, there will come a point in time where they have to make a big choice. There's a lot of great work happening there in terms of the development of players, but the players need somewhere to go, they need somewhere to play. It's going to be interesting to see what happens over there.”
Courts also found living and working in Saudi Arabia to be a personally enriching experience and will look back on his two years there with gratitude and fondness.
Read more:
- We're teaching kids to hate: Why disorder is on the rise in Scottish youth football
- The bereaved fathers football team and a fight for Scotland-wide child loss support
- Hamilton fans to get 'golden share' power to block move away from New Douglas Park
"You have obviously some preconceptions when you go over there," he said. "But the people are super-friendly.
“My wife and young son came out. When we were in the supermarket we obviously stood out because of our skin colour, but everyone was really warm and generous to us. When they saw our son they would want to buy him something. I made a lot of really good friends.
"Honestly, they are really good people. The country is starting to change with inward investment now. They want to bring in tourists. But they've just been in their own little bubble over there. They hear people like chatting s*** about them and they don't challenge it. They just crack on. It was an incredible, amazing experience.”
