IF Scotland come up short in their bid to reach the World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States later this year then there is little chance of Steve Clarke remaining as manager.
But if the national team, who will take on Belarus, Greece and either Denmark or Portugal in qualifying in September, October and November, make it through to their first global finals since France ’98 will he remain in his role?
The 61-year-old, whose contract runs up until the next major tournament in 2026, was giving little away as he named a 23-man squad for the Nations League play-off matches against Greece at Hampden yesterday.
The chances are that Clarke, who has led Scotland through to Euro 2020 and Euro 2024 since being appointed back in 2019, will decide to depart and seek out a fresh challenge after the next World Cup.
He refused, though, to discount staying on entirely after calling up youngsters Lennon Miller of Motherwell and James Wilson of Hearts for the double header in Athens on Thursday week and in Glasgow three days later.
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Asked if he would move on after his current agreement is finished, he said, “I will go on percentages - 75 per cent. I have not spoken to my bosses about it. I think I said before the September camp last year that I am going into the last year of my contract - I am going to run my contract down. Then we will see what happens.”
Asked if there was a possibility he could stay on, Clarke said, “Only if you guys want me! Listen it is one of those things. I have decided that I want to run my contract down.
“Obviously if we have a fantastic year and get to the World Cup, maybe someone can persuade me to stay. But at this moment in time I am happy to run my contract down. I want to go to America. That is the bottom line. I want to help this group of players to get to the World Cup.
“It would (be hard to walk away). But I still have 10 big games this year to determine my future moving forward, whether I stay here or whether I go somewhere else. The next year can determine my future. It is a little bit too early to be talking about me leaving or me staying.”
The former Newcastle United, Chelsea and Liverpool assistant and Kilmarnock manager confessed that he would consider returning to club football at some point in the future.
“I am always open to other suggestions,” he said. “I have enjoyed being the head coach of Scotland. I am determined to enjoy this year being the head coach of Scotland and we will see where that takes us.
Meanwhile, Clarke has confessed that losing Ben Doak, the Liverpool winger who made a huge impact in the Nations League games against Portugal, Croatia and Poland last year, to injury for the Greece matches is a huge blow for Scotland.
“It is frustrating for Ben,” he said. “But you have to look after young players and you have to realise that this was Ben’s first real season with game after game after game.
“Unfortunately he has picked up an injury that has put him out for a number of weeks and possibly the rest of the season. But he will come back stronger, better and come the autumn I hope he is flying.
“He could be an unknown quantity for Greece when we play them again in the qualifiers. And maybe over the course of the year we can find one or two other unknown quantities."
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He added, “When I first came into the job, I looked at the squad and felt we were quite inexperienced. I tried to give them caps and make them more seasoned international players and we have done that.
“Now you get to the stage where - and I have been in the job for coming up to six years, even though it feels longer than that - you have to cast your eye to the future. Some of these players will by a natural wastage go over the top and won’t be available for the next campaigns for whoever is in charge afterwards.
“You have to look at who you can bring through. We have some younger ones already in the squad. Billy [Gilmour] obviously, Ben has come into the squad and done really well, but is obviously not available for this camp. It is just a matter of trying to get the balance right so we can move forward with a balanced squad.”
