Clarke says he gave SFA 'a little shove' to secure new contract before World Cup
Scotland manager Steve Clarke has revealed that public comments in March helped speed up contract talks with the Scottish FA ahead of the World Cup. Scotland won one match at the tournament but failed to escape the group stage.
Scotland head coach Steve Clarke has revealed that by March he still had not been offered a new contract, something he found strange and which made him suspect the Scottish FA was waiting to see how the team performed at the summer tournament before committing to him.
To push things along, Clarke made public comments in the media in mid-March, which he described as giving the SFA "a little shove". Negotiations then proceeded intensively from the start of April through to mid-May, wrapping up just before Scotland's match against Curacao.
Clarke said he told the federation that if a new deal was not agreed before the World Cup, he would announce he was leaving the job. According to him, the SFA "panicked a little" and the contract was finalised, though he described the process as difficult and drawn out.
He also admitted he had privately decided that if Scotland failed to progress from the group stage, he would likely have left regardless of the new contract. The only scenario in which he would have stayed despite an early exit was if the team had played three excellent matches but still been let down by results elsewhere.
Tournament results
Scotland beat Haiti 1-0 in the tournament but then lost by the same scoreline to Morocco, before a heavier 3-0 defeat to Brazil left their fate dependent on other results, as they hoped to progress as one of the better third-placed teams.
Clarke recalled that the squad had to remain in Charlotte for four or five days awaiting the outcome, which he called an agonising wait, even though he already suspected Scotland's goal difference would not be sufficient. He said he faced criticism in the media at the time for predicting the team would be eliminated, but he turned out to be correct.
Following the Brazil defeat, Clarke spoke with several senior players and sensed the squad needed a different voice going forward if they are to make history by reaching the knockout stage at Euro 2028. He has since spoken with incoming head coach Sebastien Pocognoli to wish him well, and said he believes even Scotland should be able to qualify for that tournament, given two spots will be reserved for the best-ranked host nation that fails to qualify as a group winner or runner-up.
