Steve Clarke Had to Nudge SFA Over New Scotland Contract

Clark continued: “When March arrived and there was still no offer of a new deal, I found the situation quite unusual. It made me wonder whether they were delaying the decision until after the summer tournament.

“I therefore made a few public comments in March to put some pressure on the SFA. Contract discussions then continued almost constantly from early April until mid-May, shortly before the match against Curacao.

“I told them that unless we reached an agreement before travelling to the World Cup, I would announce my intention to step down. That caused some concern, and they eventually offered me the new contract.

“Finalising it was an extremely difficult process, but we managed to complete the deal in the end.

“However, I had already decided that I would probably leave if we failed to advance from the group. I would only have considered staying if the team had delivered three excellent performances but the results had simply gone against us.”

Scotland secured a 1-0 victory over Haiti, then suffered a 1-0 defeat against Morocco and lost 3-0 to Brazil. Those results left them relying on an improbable combination of outcomes to progress as one of the highest-ranked third-place teams.

“We then had to remain in Charlotte for another four or five days,” he remembered. “It felt like an eternity because all we could do was wait, even though we knew our goal difference was unlikely to be enough and that we would be heading home.”

“I knew that four points would be required, but I received a lot of criticism for saying so. People also attacked me when I said our tournament was effectively over and we would be eliminated, but my assessment proved correct.”

Clarke said he held conversations with several experienced players after the Brazil match and concluded that the squad would benefit from fresh leadership if it is to reach the knockout rounds of Euro 2028 for the first time.

He also contacted newly appointed head coach Sebastien Pocognoli last week to offer his best wishes. Clarke believes qualification should be achievable because two places at the finals will go to the highest-ranked host nations that do not qualify by finishing first or second in their groups.