Hugh Keevins has delivered a scathing verdict on Steve Clarke's resignation as Scotland manager, summing up the national team's World Cup campaign in just seven words: "Qualification followed by mortification followed by resignation."
Writing for the Daily Record, Keevins said there was no need for psycho-analysis or in-depth analysis, only a firm grip on numeracy. He noted that Scotland's nine matches in the finals of three major tournaments over five years have brought just one win, and that was an own goal against Haiti.
Clarke's bewildering explanation
Keevins expressed bewilderment at Clarke's explanation for signing a new four-year contract with the Scottish Football Association just 31 days before deciding to step down. He described the manager's reasoning as "gobbledygook."
Clarke had said he wanted his future secured before the World Cup started, and the SFA complied. After the tournament, Clarke said it was a case of "trying to give a little bit of comfort to the players knowing that we could continue the journey." Keevins questioned whether a squad containing Champions League winner Andy Robertson, Europa League-winning captain John McGinn, and Serie A title winner Scott McTominay really needed such psychological reassurance.
"It makes the players sound as if they'd need to take Clarke's hand before they crossed the road," Keevins wrote. "These are hard-bitten, case-hardened professionals at the top end of the game."
Roy Keane's joke and the Tartan Army's desire for change
Keevins referenced former Manchester United captain Roy Keane, who joked that if Clarke had gone into a bar during Happy Hour while Scotland were in Boston, he'd have been asked to leave. Keevins said Clarke had the "funereal demeanour of an undertaker" and that after seven years, the Tartan Army wanted something different.
"When a relationship sours, an emotional break-up, followed by divorce, is usually what happens," Keevins wrote. He added that a post-World Cup backlash was inevitable and blood-letting is par for the course.
Questioning the players and the manager
Keevins argued that asking questions about where Scotland fell down at another major finals should not be dismissed as a media-driven conspiracy. He questioned whether any other manager could get more out of the current squad, and why the SFA is now casting its net far and wide to find Clarke's successor.
"I think we need a hydration break and then to accept we have to find out if the players were letting Clarke down, or if the opposite was the case," he wrote. He suggested it might have been a mutual form of malfunction best sorted out by a change of direction.
A lesson from an American writer
Keevins concluded by quoting American writer Peter McWilliams: "To avoid situations in which you might make a mistake may be the biggest mistake of all." He said this might explain Clarke's inclination towards caution, which helped bring about the parting of the ways.
