Steve Clarke Resigns as Scotland Head Coach After World Cup Exit Soccer

[Dylan]

Steve Clarke has resigned as head coach following Scotland's exit from the World Cup.

The Scottish FA announced his departure in a statement just moments after Croatia's win over Ghana on Saturday, which sealed Scotland's fate.

BBC Scotland has learned the players were told on Saturday with Clarke and the squad still at their Charlotte base.

He had signed a new four-year deal only a month ago.

The Scots defeated Haiti 1-0 in their opening Group C match in Boston, the same city where they then lost 1-0 to Morocco, before being beaten 3-0 by Brazil in Miami.

It left them with only a faint chance of going through to the last 32 as one of the eight best third-placed teams - but that hope was extinguished on Saturday, three days after the Brazil defeat.

"The most emotional part of this goodbye is for my players, without whom we wouldn't have had any of the memories that we've accumulated from 2019 until now," said Clarke.

"They deserve all the praise and adulation that they receive and it was truly an honour to be called their gaffer.

"Thanks for having me and good luck to my successor."

Clarke became Scotland head coach seven years ago, with the country having not reached a major finals since the World Cup in 1998.

Under his stewardship, the Scots reached two European Championships before making it to this summer's World Cup.

However, despite that qualification success, Scotland underwhelmed in all three tournaments, with the win against Haiti earlier this month the only win across the finals.

Scotland went into Wednesday's game against Brazil well placed to be one of the best third-placed teams in the competition, only for defensive mistakes to undermine that bid.

"While we are all disappointed to have exited the World Cup at the group stage, we must not lose sight of the undeniable progress made during Steve's seven years in charge," said Scottish FA chief executive Ian Maxwell.

"From starting as a pot four team in 2019 to topping our World Cup qualifying group, he has more than delivered on the remit to take Scotland back to a major tournament.

"We thank Steve for his record-breaking contribution and know that when the disappointment of World Cup elimination subsides, the Scotland supporters will be thankful for the memories of marching with pride at major tournaments once again."

 

[Dylan]

I half expected it, to be honest. The thing is… who takes over?

I don't see any quality Scottish manager available, my choice would be Derek McIness but he's just joined Rangers.

Will they consider a foreign manager again?

Clarke did brilliantly to qualify for three tournaments but sadly our lack of quality showed up badly on the toughest stages.

The manager cannot be blamed for that. Something has to change at all levels of the Scottish game, a major overhaul, but I doubt it will.

 

[Welshy]

Steve Clarke is a good man.

He's done everything possible with what was available.

And he's decided, like all of us, that 2026 was a failure.

I couldn't ask for much more from a boss.

This from the Beeb on the next Scottish Manager contenders. They mention McInnes and Moyes being unavailable before posting this list

Scot Gemmill: The former Scotland midfielder has been Under-21 head coach for over a decade and, as such, is well known to the Scottish FA. He would be well-placed to help transition youngsters into the squad but he hasn't exactly over-achieved with the Under-21s and has no other managerial experience.

Steven Naismith: Another known quantity as part of Clarke's coaching set-up. Like Gemmill, he could be an interim option, but seems unlikely the former Hearts head coach would get the job permanently given his relative lack of experience.

John McGlynn: The Falkirk manager has been linked with Hearts and Aberdeen in recent times after a magnificent season back in the top flight following successive promotions, playing attractive, attacking football. Now 64, he would surely would find the national team job too big to turn down.

Darren Fletcher: The former national team captain is currently the Under-18s coach at Manchester United and had an interim spell with the top team. Lacks experience but his name would carry weight with players - not least son Tyler - and the fans.

Ange Postecoglou: The former Celtic manager's name has cropped up, but whether that is anything more than gossip is another matter. The Australian's style of football quickly won over the Celtic fans and, while mixed fortunes at Tottenham and Nottingham Forest have diminished his reputation, might he consider Scotland?

 

[Snoops]

Clarke says he always planned to depart if they did not qualify for the World Cup knock-out stages.

"What I wanted to make sure was that when I felt it was time to step away, it was time to step away," he said.

"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.

"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."

Asked if it was an easy decision, a philosophical Clarke said: "In some respects it was easy because I already had in my head what I wanted to achieve as a head coach. I'd also ticked all the boxes.

"I wanted to go to a major tournament with my country. I did that with the Euros. The first Euros [in 2021] 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."