LAST night he was coaching a group of 12-year-olds in Gussie Park, Dundee.

Next month it will be a squad of Portuguese and Brazilian players in the Primeira Liga. No wonder Ian Cathro is pinching himself.

"I've gone from being a kids' coach in Dundee to a league that includes Benfica, Sporting Lisbon and Porto," reflected the 25-year-old. "You probably couldn't fathom a more difficult, complex situation than working with senior players for the first time while also having to learn a new language. It's insane, but I'm going to dive in and make the most of the opportunity."

Cathro is joining Rio Ave, who are based in a town 12 miles from Porto, as assistant coach in what is a ground-breaking move for somebody of his age and experience. It continues an accelerated development which started three years ago, when Craig Levein spotted his potential and appointed him head of Dundee United's junior academy at the age of just 22.

The Dundonian was also taken under the wing of Andre Villas-Boas after visiting him when he was still manager of Porto, 16 months ago. But the move to Rio Ave, in the north-west of Portugal, wasn't engineered by the sacked Chelsea manager, but has its origins in a UEFA B Licence course at Largs.

The man Cathro bonded with on the Ayrshire coast, former goalkeeper Nuno Espirito Santo, was appointed head coach of Rio Ave earlier this month. The club from Vila do Conde sacked the previous incumbant, Carlos Brito, after an indifferent season in which they just managed to escape relegation.

"I met Nuno on the course almost exactly a year ago today," Cathro recalled. "When he saw me coaching he must have seen something he liked. We had a few chats, exchanged views and got to know each other's thoughts."

The two kept in touch and yesterday Nuno confirmed Cathro as one of his coaching team. Nuno himself is only 38, and his only previous experience is as goalkeeping coach at Malaga and Panathinaikos.

Given that the combined ages of Nuno and Cathro is seven years less than that of Sir Alex Ferguson, it is fair to suggest that Rio Ave have taken a calculated gamble even if, as Cathro points out, clubs in Portugal tend to appoint younger coaches than is the case in Scotland and England.

"Nuno and I have got different views, but in a way they fit together," explained the Scot. "He has been a leader in the dressing room at the clubs he has played for and he understands how players think and act.

"I don't have that experience, but there are five of us in the coaching team with different areas of expertise, so I think it will work. Not speaking Portuguese is going to be challenging, but Nuno speaks English and I have some Spanish."

Cathro's move comes only five months after he was appointed to another new job, this time as the coach for the new SFA regional performance school in Dundee. He admitted he hadn't been relishing breaking the news about Rio Ave to Scotland manager Levein, or SFA performance director Mark Wotte.

"I'm grateful to them both, because they said they understood I had been given a great opportunity," Cathro pointed out. "Craig said he would be on the end of the line if I need advice, and I appreciate that support.

"I'm genuinely sorry I won't be working with the group of kids in Dundee, because I've known some of them for five years and they have great potential, but this was too good to turn down."