Scotland next manager: Harsh reality behind calls for David Moyes & Ange Postecoglou

For out-of-work Postecoglou, who has sometimes offered tactical insight on the Scots during World Cup punditry duties this summer, the timing could be right.

But the elephant in the room, again, would be the numbers involved if he were even interested in heading back to Scotland.

The former Celtic manager was sacked by Nottingham Forest in October after just 39 days in charge.

That came only four months after he was let go by Spurs, having just won them the Europa League – their first trophy in 17 years.

The bullish, winning mentality the Australian exudes would galvanise the Scotland fanbase, many of whom grew frustrated with Clarke’s approach in tournaments.

A lot of those Scottish supporters will also have been regularly exposed to the thrilling brand of football he implemented during a trophy-laden spell at Celtic.

Postecoglou also has four years of experience in senior international management, having been Australia boss between 2013 and 2017.

He won the 2015 Asian Cup after taking the nation to the 2014 World Cup, where they exited at the group stage in a brutal section featuring holders Spain, 2010 runners-up Netherlands and Chile.

Postecoglou ticks nearly every box, but with a reported £5m yearly salary at Spurs followed by a supposed £3m-a-season deal at Forest, it would be fanciful to think the SFA can come anywhere near matching those figures.

Although Clarke felt like the standout candidate at the time – and went on to prove himself the right choice – poaching him from Kilmarnock highlights the pond Scotland were fishing in then.

With standards raised after three major finals appearances across the Clarke era, the coming weeks will tell us how ambitious the SFA are prepared to be in their search to replace arguably the nation’s most successful men’s head coach.