Former Cardiff City boss Malky Mackay has been appointed by the Scottish Football Association as the governing body's new performance director.

The 44-year-old has been out of work since April after he was sacked by Wigan Athletic following just 138 days at the helm of the DW Stadium.

Mackay was at the centre of controversy last year when he was investigated by the English FA for allegedly exchanging racist, sexist, anti-semitic and homophobic messages with former Cardiff head of recruitment Iain Moody.

Both individuals escaped punishment, and now Mackay has taken on a new job that will involve him trying to shape youth football in Scotland.

As a player, Mackay began his career at Queen's Park, Celtic, Norwich City, West Ham United and Watford, while as a coach he worked with the Hornets, Cardiff and Wigan.

The Scotsman said: "I am immensely proud and privileged to become Performance Director and I am acutely aware of the importance of this role in achieving future success for our talented young players.

"As someone who was fortunate enough to develop as a young player at Queen's Park and realise my dream of playing for my country at the national stadium, this feels like coming home. I can't wait to work in partnership with our clubs and my colleagues at the Scottish FA to help improve future generations of Scotland players."

Scottish FA chief executive Stewart Regan added: "From the start of the recruitment process, Malky was an outstanding candidate and by the end of that thorough process he was the outstanding candidate.

"His experiences as a player and a manager are complemented by his strategic outlook and commitment to implement many of the exciting proposals the Performance Working Group have discussed in recent months.

"Malky will spend the initial weeks and months immersing himself in these recommendations and speaking to all relevant groups to provide a future framework that is conducive to meeting our shared objective: to provide a better standard of player for the benefit of our clubs and, ultimately, our national teams."

The appointment comes amid a potential legal battle for Mackay, who, along with Moody and three football agents, is being sued for £10m in damages by Cardiff.

The Welsh club have accused the individuals of conspiring to defraud the club over two transfers - Steven Caulker's £8.5m switch from Tottenham Hotspur in July 2013 and the £2.5m capture of Peter Odemwingie from West Bromwich Albion in the same window.