Steve Clarke is confident he can oversee an evolution of Scotland’s squad after signing a new contract to remain as manager until 2030. Clarke is gearing up to lead Scotland into their first World Cup in 28 years, with this afternoon’s warm-up friendly against Curacao at Hampden marking their send-off before they fly to America tomorrow.
It was announced on Thursday that Clarke has agreed a new deal that will run for another four years, taking in the next Euros, which Scotland will co-host in 2028, as well as the next World Cup in 2030. Inducted into the SFA’s Hall of Fame yesterday, Clarke, who was appointed in 2019, is the only Scotland manager in history to lead the nation to three major tournaments.
However, critics have questioned the wisdom of handing him a new contract on the eve of another tournament, given the disappointment of the last two Euros. Insisting he is hungrier than ever to lead Scotland into the future, Clarke said: ‘There’s enough there [in terms of players coming through] across the next four years. Also, don’t forget the senior core of the squad are all 30 or 31. So, for sure, in 2028 they can all be involved. With modern sports science and how they work with their clubs now, some of them might even go all the way to 2030 for the World Cup. So I think we’ve got a really good squad just now which will evolve slowly. It’s not revolution, it’s evolution over the next four years. And probably by 2030 World Cup, it will look completely different to what we have now. It’s definitely a fresh challenge.’
A year ago, Clarke had stated that the World Cup campaign was likely to be his last in charge of Scotland after seven years at the helm. But a change of heart over recent months now means he could be in charge for 11 years if he sees out the duration of his new deal. Clarke was asked whether there were any clauses in his contract which would allow him to pursue any club jobs part-time, as Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill did with Blackburn Rovers last season. He also believes the likes of Martin O’Neill has shown with Celtic in recent months that age need only be a number in management. Likewise Dick Advocaat, the 78-year-old veteran who will take charge of Curacao at the World Cup.
‘There are no clauses in the contract, none whatsoever,’ stated Clarke, who will turn 63 in August. ‘It’s a straightforward contract. No clauses. I think it was always important that we got it done before the tournament. It gives everybody clarity moving forward. It keeps the stability around the position, the squad, and hopefully the future of Scottish football. The thinking has always been two tournaments. Even when I came in, it was a two-tournament contract. When we extended, it was into another two tournaments. The decision after Euro 2024 was for me to clear my head a little bit and work out what was going to happen after that. That was my decision to run that down. The qualifying campaign for the World Cup went really well. We then had a look at what’s coming next in terms of longevity of the squad, new players that are starting to bubble under that maybe can be part of the squad in the future. Then it was just a decision that I thought it was right to stay on. What’s the target over the next four years? Two more qualifications and hopefully leave a squad in a really good place. People forget that when I took the job seven years ago we had not qualified in 20 years. Hopefully when I decide to step aside, whenever that is, hopefully in four years’ time, we don’t have to wait another 20 years to get to another tournament. We should be qualifying regularly for tournaments. Martin certainly raised the bar. I think Roy Hodgson saw Martin and raised it even further at 78. Look at Dick Advocaat, he’s 78 and still going in yet another international job. You never know what’s ahead of you. Let’s see what the future brings.’
