Scotland’s men will be bidding to secure a place at next year’s World Cup in New Delhi, India, at a qualifying tournament in Invercargill, New Zealand this autumn.

The team, set to be coached by junior men’s coach Russell Garcia, and his assistant Derek Forsyth, will face China, Malaysia, Austria, hosts New Zealand and Wales in a round-robin tournament.

Garcia said: “I’m happy to be taking on this role, and we’re taking a long term view on it in terms of giving younger players the chance.

“We’ll be using these qualifiers as an opportunity to get to the World Cup, but also as a stepping stone for the European Trophy squad for 2011 as well as the Commonwealth Games in 2014.”

The winners of the competition, set to take place from November 7-15th, will take their place at next February’s World Cup.

Scotland booked their spot at the qualifying tournament with their fifth-place finish at the EuroHockey Nations Trophy in Wrexham last month.

“I'm delighted that both Russell and Derek have agreed to lead the programme as they bring a huge amount of experience with them,” said Scottish Hockey performance manager Callum McLeod.

“Both are fully committed and highly motivated to deliver the best possible programme in the short space of time.”