Scotland: Steve Clarke says standing down ‘easy’ decision after World Cup exit

Clarke told his players of his decision at 19:00 local time on Saturday, immediately after Scotland’s exit from the tournament was confirmed.

“It’s obviously an emotional moment when you tell your players that you’re stepping away after such a journey together,” he said.

“I think seven or eight of them have been with me from the start, right the way through. It was very important to me that the players knew first, and obviously just before I went into the meeting I had to tell my captain [Andy Robertson] because I knew that he’d want to say a few words back to me.”

Despite the backlash to Scotland’s group-stage performance, Clarke is adamant he had a “brilliant” World Cup experience.

“I said I was going to enjoy it,” he said. “Coming out for the Haiti game with the Scotland fans there in their thousands and my family in the stands was just the best moment.

“The next two games were tough. We played difficult opponents. Morocco and Brazil, both of them can go really deep in the tournament and we competed with them, no matter what other people might say. We competed, both games were competitive.

“We showed a lot of character and we played some good stuff. We didn’t find the quality in the final third of the pitch, but I could maybe say that across the whole seven years we’ve always been chasing and trying to find that quality in the final third of the pitch – and I hope my successor manages to do that.”

Assessing his time in charge, a “100% proud” Clarke believes he achieved his goal “to change the mentality round the group” and give them belief that they can compete at the highest level.

“We’ll become part of Scottish folklore as we move forward,” he predicted. “People will be talking about some of these matches, some of these occasions right into the next century.

“Everybody keeps saying this core group’s finished. They’re not finished yet, because they can all make it for Euro 2028.”