The chief football writer for The Herald newspaper has been appointed as the new head of communications at the Scottish Football Association.

Darryl Broadfoot succeeds Rob Shorthouse, who has joined Strathclyde Police, and, before him, Andy Mitchell, who now does PR for the University of Stirling and works for European football's governing body, UEFA.

Broadfoot, aged 30, started at The Herald as a 16 year-old 'copy boy' before steadily rising through the ranks of the sports desk where he began writing football match reports from Scottish lower division games. He has two more weeks at The Herald, followed by a couple of weeks holiday, before taking up the new position.

He is also a familiar voice on Radio Clyde and a pundit on BBC Scotland.