Controversial performance director Mark Wotte is leaving his post, the SFA announced today.

It said in a statement that the Dutchman had "decided to move on from his position".

Wotte joined the SFA in June 2011 to implement the Performance Strategy framework conceived as part of the Henry McLeish Review of Scottish Football.

The SFA said he had now implemented the strategy and put in place an enhanced structure to maintain the undoubted progress in the performance area.

It said that, during his tenure, seven Regional Performance Schools had been set up throughout the country, involving more than 300 of the country's most talented boys and girls on a daily basis.

He has also overseen National Youth Team success, with the men's under-17 squad reaching the semi-finals of the UEFA European Championships, the under-16s winning the Sky Sports Victory Shield and the women's under-17 and under-19 teams reaching the European Championship finals.

Wotte was also integral to the creation of the SPFL Under-20 league, to promote youth development into first-team football, and the restructuring of Club Academy Scotland.

Wotte said: "I am proud to have been the Scottish FA's first Performance Director leading this nationwide project and I leave safe in the knowledge that this great football nation is on the rise again.

"With the performance schools now into their third year, the successes in qualification for finals by our national youth teams, and of course the great work by Gordon Strachan and Anna Signeul in the men's and women's A squads, I am confident that Scottish football is on the path to success again.

"I have absolutely loved my time in Scotland and have been grateful for the excellent support of my coaching team, performance department staff and, of course, the member clubs. However, 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 really looking forward to a new challenge."

Stewart Regan, SFA chief executive: "On behalf of the board and staff at the Scottish FA I would like to thank Mark for taking the Performance Strategy from an ambitious goal in the early days of our strategic plan, Scotland United: A 2020 Vision, to an exciting reality.

"In just over three years, we have already seen signs of great progress and I would reiterate my thanks to Mark for providing such a solid foundation on which to build future success for Scottish football."

However, some have criticised Wotte's radical approach. Earlier this year, Sunday Herald columnist Billy Dodds, now assistant manager at Ross county, wrote: "Something isn't right at the SFA's performance department. For starters, Mark Wotte can't seem to retain his staff. First, Ian Cathro leaves for Portuguese side Rio Ave, next Ray McKinnon is off to Brechin City, then Dean Gorre leaves for personal reasons and now Under-17 coach Scott Booth jumps ship to Stenhousemuir. You are always going to have one or two cases where people want to move on or have a crack at day-to-day club management. But, with no disrespect to Brechin and Stenhousemuir, they aren't exactly the biggest clubs around.

"Performance director Wotte has ring-fenced his job for 10 years - I wish we could all do that - but if this was such an elite, long-term process, guys like McKinnon and Booth would be sticking around rather than grabbing hold of the first job going. There is something they don't like in there and I'll take an educated guess and say the problem is the edicts sent down by Wotte himself...

"I know from talking to a couple of the coaches that they are simply not allowed to change from a 4-3-3 shape. It is Wotte's way or the highway, but it is absolute madness as a coach if you can't counter the way a team is playing against you. Coaches must have the right to change within games; you must allow people to tinker. I can't help thinking these boys simply wanted to start thinking for themselves, that they didn't agree with Wotte's plans, so they left."

Last year, Wotte was involved in a public spat with then Celtic manager Neil Lennon, who accused him of being "insecure and paranoid".

Wotte had said "not every first-team manager knows what is going on at youth level" and said some "need to educate themselves".

Lennon said: "I think he got sort of set up by some members of the press, however I...wasn't talking about the SFA - I was talking about the academy system in Britain, so he needs to look at the quotes before he gets a little bit insecure and paranoid about things.

"Another point is, I don't need educating about the Scottish game. I have been here for 13 years at the top end. And I certainly don't need to know what's going on at my club because I know it from top to bottom. So maybe Mark should have picked up the phone."