Scotland head coach Steve Clarke to remain in charge until after the 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico and United States; "I am proud that my coaching team and I will continue to lead the team through the next two qualifying campaigns," said Clarke
Friday 24 March 2023 16:21, UK
Scotland head coach Steve Clarke has signed a new deal to remain in charge of the national team until 2026.
On the eve of the opening Euro 2024 qualifier against Cyprus at Hampden Park, Clarke has committed to a new contract that will see him stay until after the next World Cup.
Clarke's first match was against Saturday's opponents, Cyprus, in 2019 and kickstarted the team's campaign that saw Scotland reach Euro 2020 - their first major finals since 1998.
Since then, Scotland enjoyed promotion to the UEFA Nations League Group A, and despite missing out on the Qatar World Cup, Clarke has now set his sights on returning to another major tournament next year.
"I think it's good that the people above me understand what we're trying to do," Clarke said.
"I've settled better into the role and that's probably a credit to the players because they've allowed me to feel comfortable, and they've managed to get the results that have kept us moving in a forward direction.
"I think we've improved a lot from when I first came in to now.
"Qualification for Euro 2020 was good, I've spoken before about the World Cup campaign where the actual qualifying campaign was good - it was disappointing to lose a one-off play-off game but that can happen - but to then bounce back and get a qualification to the UEFA Nations League A, to me it seems like a continual improvement.
"The difficult bit now is the next improvements are very difficult to make. All the small details are going to add up as to whether we can be really competitive and start qualifying for tournaments. I don't want to go to Germany in 2024 and not go in 2026. You want Scotland to be qualifying.
"You want the future to look good, you want to be competitive all the time and go into every qualifying campaign thinking 'you know what, we've got a chance to qualify' that's what we want."
Ian Maxwell, Scottish FA chief executive added: "This has been one of the easiest decisions and conversations during my time as chief executive.
"Steve has united the nation behind a successful men's national team and as we look forward to a new UEFA Euro 2024 campaign, it was important we demonstrated our commitment to Steve and his backroom team, and acknowledged the continuity that has been key to our improvement in the past four years.
"I know how determined the squad are to return to a major final after experiencing Euro 2020 and while everyone was disappointed not to have reached the World Cup in Qatar last December, securing promotion to Nations League Group A was another sign of the undeniable progress made.
"I'm sure the fans will share the Scottish FA's excitement and we wish Steve and his squad all the best for the forthcoming double-header."
Scotland captain Andy Robertson said: "Since the manager has come in there has been a lot more positive feeling around the Scotland national team. The fans have really took to him, the players have really took to him and the fact that we're guaranteed an extra campaign under him is big news for us all. [It is] Good news for the whole country.
"I think we've made a lot of changes behind the scenes and I think we've made it a lot better to come away. Lads are desperate now to come away with Scotland which, rightly or wrongly, wasn't the case. Sometimes we had a lot of call-offs coming up to campaigns which obviously doesn't help when trying to pick a squad.
"Since he's come in he's been quite consistent in the squad that he's picked and the lads have been very consistent in showing up and it obviously helps."
Since taking charge almost four years ago, how much has Clarke changed from that opening game in 2019?
Scotland required a late goal from Oliver Burke at Hampden Park to edge past Cyprus and eventually qualified for Euro 2020.
However, of those who featured that night - just six players remain in Clarke's current squad, with Callum McGregor the only Scottish Premiership player to be in both.
There were 11 outfield players from Scotland's top flight in Clarke's initial squad back then, but Rangers' Ryan Jack joins McGregor and late addition Anthony Ralston as the only three outfield representatives this time.
The rest are dominated by players from the Premier League and Sky Bet Championship. There is also Lewis Ferguson, who is impressing in Serie A with Bologna.
While some may question the drop-off in outfield players from the Scottish Premiership making the cut, 12 of Clarke's current group all featured in the top flight before making the move down south or abroad as competition increases for a spot in the group.
Clarke's assistant John Carver believes this squad is "night and day" from his first and shows how far the national team has come.
"I think the quality is getting better all the time. I think we're upgrading the players and the guys who have played for us in the past have been excellent," he said.
"Steve showed me the squad he picked four years ago and he showed me the squad that we have now and with all due respect to those guys it's night and day.
"That's shown progress over the four years that this group of players have made, but they will only be judged on what happens in this tournament now."
Speaking after signing his new deal, ahead of the Hampden Park matches against Cyprus and Spain, Clarke said: "When we named our squad for this double-header, I spoke with my coaches about how the quality and depth of the squad has evolved in those four years.
"We now have an experienced core who have been constants throughout, but we have also added quality and competition in every area of the team.
"We also played that game [against Cyprus in 2019] in front of around 30,000 fans and will walk out on Saturday, and Tuesday against Spain, to a full house at Hampden Park.
"It's imperative that we keep the fans and the nations engaged and entertained and that is something we are all committed to achieving through winning games and qualifying for more major tournaments, starting with Germany next year."
March 25: Scotland vs Cyprus, kick-off 2pm
March 28: Scotland vs Spain, kick-off 7.45pm
June 17: Norway vs Scotland, kick-off 5pm
June 20: Scotland vs Georgia, kick-off 7.45pm
September 8: Cyprus vs Scotland, kick-off 7.45pm
October 12: Spain vs Scotland, kick-off 7.45pm
November 16: Georgia vs Scotland, kick-off 5pm
November 19: Scotland vs Norway, kick-off 7.45pm
