Mark Wotte said he had achieved everything the Scottish Football Association had asked of him as his surprise departure from Hampden was announced.

The Dutchman has stepped down after three years as the SFA's first performance director.

He was installed to oversee the governing body's performance strategy, which was designed to improve the development of elite players.

The SFA's vision was that, by 2020, most of the Scotland team would have come through their performance programme, but Wotte will be long gone before the success can be judged.

The 53-year-old said: "I am proud to have been the SFA's first performance director leading this nationwide project.

"I leave safe in the knowledge that this great football nation is on the rise again.

"My job was to implement the strategy to move Scottish football forward. Clearly the structure is now fully in place and Scottish football will continue to see the benefits in coming years.

"I feel I have completed the tasks I was set and I am delighted with the swift progress but I am looking forward to a new challenge."

SFA chief executive Stewart Regan hailed Wotte's arrival in June 2011 as the "key appointment that could turn around Scottish football".

The SFA listed some of the successes Wotte had "overseen", including the under-17s reaching the European Championship semi-finals and the under-16s winning the Sky Sports Victory Shield.

The statement said he was "integral to the creation of the SPFL Under-20 league", which was this year changed to a development league, and the "restructuring of Club Academy Scotland".

The latter project puts professional clubs at the forefront of youth development, amid guidelines and financial support from the SFA, rather than boys' clubs.

He also oversaw the setting-up of seven regional performance schools, which allow children to combine their studies with daily football coaching from the age of 12.