Steve Clarke has explained why he resigned as Scotland manager just a month after signing a new four-year contract, insisting he had already decided to walk away if his side failed to reach the World Cup knockout stages.
The 62-year-old stunned Scottish football by stepping down after Scotland’s group-stage exit, despite only recently committing his future to the national team through to Euro 2028 and the 2030 World Cup.
Scotland finished bottom of a difficult group containing Brazil, Morocco and Haiti, with Clarke informing his players of his decision at the team hotel in Charlotte shortly after their elimination was confirmed.
Although the timing of his departure surprised many, Clarke revealed the new contract was never intended to guarantee he would remain in charge regardless of results.
Instead, he signed the extension to reassure his players before the tournament, while privately accepting that failure to progress would signal the end of his reign.
“Signing the contract before [the World Cup] was a case of trying to give a little bit of comfort to the players knowing that we could continue the journey,” Clarke explained.
“I always had in my head that, if we didn’t come out of the group, which is something that we’ve tried to do across three tournaments now, I always had in my head that if that didn’t happen then it was probably the right time to step away.
“Obviously if we’d managed to get that extra point and got out of the group then I’d probably have stayed on and tried to do another tournament.”
Steve Clarke has explained why he resigned as Scotland manager just a month after signing a new four-year contract, insisting he had already decided to walk away if his side failed to reach the World Cup knockout stages
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Clarke admitted that, because he had already made peace with that possibility, the decision to resign became easier.
“In some respects it was easy because I already had in my head what I wanted to achieve as a head coach,” he said.
“I’d also ticked all the boxes.
“I wanted to go to a major tournament with my country. I did that with the Euros.
Scotland’s final World Cup game ended in a dire 3-0 defeat to Brazil | PA
“The first Euros was a little bit not the Euros because it was Covid affected.
“The second Euros was great. The tournament didn’t go as we wanted, but getting to Germany was fantastic.
“My lifelong ambition was to do a World Cup with my country. I’ve done that, so not a bad time to step aside.”
Clarke described informing his squad as an emotional moment after seven years in charge.
Steve Clarke managed Scotland at three major international tournaments
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“It’s obviously an emotional moment when you tell your players that you’re stepping away after such a journey together,” he said.
“I think seven or eight of them have been with me from the start, right the way through.
“It was very important to me that the players knew first, and obviously just before I went into the meeting I had to tell my captain [Andy Robertson] because I knew that he’d want to say a few words back to me.”
Despite criticism following defeats to Morocco and Brazil, however, the former Scotland boss insisted he would look back on the World Cup with pride.
“I said I was going to enjoy it,” he said.
“Coming out for the Haiti game with the Scotland fans there in their thousands and my family in the stands was just the best moment.
“The next two games were tough. We played difficult opponents.
“Morocco and Brazil, both of them can go really deep in the tournament and we competed with them, no matter what other people might say.”
Steve Clarke feels it is the right time to leave Scotland, with the Tartan Army now planning for a future without him | REUTERS
Reflecting on his spell in charge, Clarke said he leaves convinced he transformed the mentality around the national side.
“We’ll become part of Scottish folklore as we move forward,” he added.
“People will be talking about some of these matches, some of these occasions right into the next century.”
He also dismissed suggestions Scotland’s current generation is nearing the end of its cycle.
“Everybody keeps saying this core group’s finished,” Clarke said.
“They’re not finished yet, because they can all make it for Euro 2028.”
