Gary Holt – the man christened Three Lungs during his time as a Norwich City player – has left Carrow Road to take up a management role in Scotland.

Holt, who had been working at City's Academy as a Professional Development Coach, was yesterday named as manager of First Division Falkirk.

The 40-year-old was part of Nigel Worthington's First Division title winning team of 2004 and was the club's Player of the Season two years earlier. He made a total of 182 senior appearance, scoring three goals, for the Canaries between 2001 and 2005, having been signed from Kilmarnock - a team which is immortalised on his left calf which carries a tattoo of the club's crest. He went on to play for Nottingham Forest and Wycombe and also spent a season playing for Lowestoft Town.

City manager Chris Hughton said: 'I'd like to thank Gary for all his hard work for the club and myself and everyone at Norwich City wishes him all the very best for this exciting new challenge at Falkirk.'

Academy manager Ricky Martin added: 'We'd like to thank Gary as he's been a great servant as both a player and Academy coach for Norwich City and we wish him well in his new career at Falkirk.

'I've worked with Gary over the last three years and he's someone who I found very hard-working and imaginative in his coaching and I'm sure these traits will continue in his new job.'

Holt is the second member of the class of 2004 to go into top-class management, with Malky Mackay currently gunning for promotion to the Premier League with high-flying Cardiff City.

Holt takes over from Steven Pressley, who left to manage League One Coventry City at the beginning of March.

'It's an exciting move for me,' Holt told Falkirk's official website. 'I've worked under some good managers and learned a lot.

'I was particularly attracted to the infrastructure and academy setup at Falkirk and working with good, young players. It may be a cliché but I agree with the sentiments that if you are good enough, then you are old enough.'

Holt - who earned his Three Lungs nickname from former City coach Steve Foley because of his n on-stop workrate on the pitch - will take charge of Falkirk for the first time this weekend when they face Hibernian in the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup, a competition he won with Kilmarnock in 1997.