For a man who’s supposedly so stubborn and set in his ways, Steve Clarke didn’t half blow the doors off the place in what proved to be his final day as Scotland manager.
There was a large constituency of fans who didn’t want him hanging around after the World Cup come hell or high water. This number was swollen considerably in the wake of another tournament which promised so much yet delivered so little.
But the small matter of that four-year deal – set in stone, we were told – ensured no one foresaw the wildest of conclusions to this World Cup. Clarke, excluded, of course.
We didn’t realise it at the time, but he effectively threw in the towel three days previously. Scotland were down after losing to Brazil, but they weren’t yet out.
While they required an unlikely sequence of results to go their way, they weren’t quite hoping for a miracle. Clarke, though, had already checked out. ‘For sure, I think we’re going home,’ he said. It was strangely defeatist.
In the same press conference, he praised the efforts of his players in getting back to the world stage yet didn’t try to sugar-coat their shortcomings. ‘We have to be better if we want to compete at this level,’ he stated.
Steve Clarke effectively threw in the towel straight after Scotland’s defeat by Brazil in Miami
SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell is looking for a new manager after Clarke’s resignation
SFA president Mike Mulraney insisted last month that Clarke deserved his new four-year deal
It’s hard not to view that remark as coming from a man who no longer believed he was getting his players performing at their optimum level. And when that’s the case, you have served your purpose.
Clarke doesn’t do social media, but he doesn’t live in a bubble either. He’d have been aware of the clamour for him to go after a dreadful denouement in Miami and of the anger directed towards the SFA hierarchy for tying him down until 2030 on May 28.
His mind was made up. Feeling the heat themselves after it all went horribly wrong in the US, neither chief executive Ian Maxwell nor president Mike Mulraney wasted much energy trying to talk Clarke round. After the handshakes and the wording of the statement was agreed, following seven years and one month, it was all over.
Understandably, there will be a desire from all concerned to move on quickly and to shift the narrative towards what happens next, yet there must first be a full and frank explanation of what happened.
It’s been one of the strangest episodes in the history of Scottish football – a field where the competition is stiff – and no one concerned emerges with any credit.
Sat in a suite at Hampden at the end of last month, Maxwell bristled at the suggestion that handing Clarke a four-year deal with the Haiti game looming large was a gamble.
Confirming that there was no break clause in the contract, he said: ‘It’s my job and the association’s job to make decisions that we think are right for the long-term future of the men’s national team.’
Mulraney, who championed Clarke’s cause in 2019, went further, saying: ‘I knew I was right the day I appointed him, I knew he was right the day he qualified us for a major tournament. I know I’m right on days it goes wrong and I believe I’m right as I sit here today.’
But it was the words of the manager that day which offered no scope for ambiguity; he was in for the long haul.
‘While my squad will be doing everything in their power to compete and make the country proud in America this summer, it also gives us certainty ahead of the tournament knowing we can build on those foundations for the long-term,’ Clarke said.
‘I look forward to working with the new chief football officer, Craig Mulholland, to increase the pipeline of talent to the senior squad through the national youth sides.’
So much for all of that.
To the very end then, Clarke called the shots in the working relationship. Just 14 months previously, he’d claimed there was a ’75 per cent chance’ he would not renew his contract after the World Cup.’
This changed to ’50/50′ in March. It felt like he was dipping his rod in the water and looking for a bite.
No doubt influenced by a desire for the contractual issue to be put to bed in advance of the tournament, the SFA jumped. The agreement over a new contract was no great surprise. The length of the commitment was.
The fact it’s now been ripped up won’t be unpopular. Even Clarke’s supporters would acknowledge that there’s some merit in a fresh face coming in with new ideas and energy after all this time.
But for the separation to abruptly come a little over four weeks after all involved claimed they were on the same page is not a good look. It hardly engenders confidence in what comes next.
The decision to make the announcement after midnight UK time this morning felt like an attempt to lessen the impact.
Clarke informed the Scotland players of his decision at a team meeting at 7.15pm local time last night.
For all the majority of Scotland supporters will have welcomed the news as they awoke, there will have been no great outpouring of joy.
History will judge Clarke’s tenure favourably. That night in Belgrade, he brought joy to a nation in the grip of the Covid pandemic.
He was unfortunate to face Ukraine in a delayed play-off for the World Cup but bounced back from that disappointment to lead the side to Euro 2024. Qualification for this summer’s tournament after a 28-year absence topped the lot.
There were some outstanding performances. That win over Serbia on penalties.. A draw with England at Wembley. A stunning display against Spain. And we’ll always have that night against Denmark.
It was in the tournaments themselves where Clarke’s team failed to deliver. They scored once at Euro 2020, twice at Euro 2024 (including an own goal) and once at this World Cup.
Clarke recently admitted that he hadn’t enjoyed the experience of both European Championships. He wasn’t alone. After an abomination of a display against Hungary in Stuttgart two years ago, many would have made a change.
Maybe he’s just not a man who’s suited to all that tournament football brings. When he sat down with reporters in Charlotte last week, he claimed this experience had been better. That was before a dismal effort against Brazil, though.
He hasn’t been helped out here by the underwhelming displays of his go-to men – Scott McTominay, Andy Robertson and John McGinn.
The trouble is that it’s a recurring theme. And when prodigiously talented players repeatedly don’t turn up at major tournaments, the finger of blame isn’t just pointed at them.
Those believing Clarke’s departure will be the panacea to every ill may be in for a rude awakening.
The squad has a smattering of elite players and some with considerable potential, but there are many of modest ability. This was underscored in the three games.
Those who have sought to simplify the issue as being solely a managerial problem miss a pertinent point. Scotland is still failing to produce enough international class footballers.
That will soon be someone else’s concern. Derek McInnes would have been a shoo-in had Rangers not come calling.
John McGlynn should be considered. The fact he’s not a name to fire the imagination of supporters means he probably won’t be.
Ange Postecoglou is interesting. He knows Scottish football, has managed at a World Cup, likes to play a more expansive brand of football than Clarke and is presently out of work.
He did exceptionally well at Celtic, but he cannot sign Daizen Maeda and Kyogo Furuhashi for Scotland.
The SFA have got a lot of thinking to do. After one of the most surreal weeks we’ve known, it would be helpful if someone also did some serious talking.
