Steve Clarke will always divide opinion among Scotland supporters. He could strike a peace deal in the Middle East, only for some to claim he had been too cagey in how he’d gone about it.
There are those who worship the ground upon which he walks, and others who still insist he should have been shown the door after the debacle that was Euro 2024. He is managerial marmite.
Whether you like him or not, though, one thing is inarguable. When he eventually leaves his position, Clarke will go down as one of Scotland’s all-time great managers.
Possibly the greatest, although definitive judgment on that should be reserved until the summer after we’ve seen how things pan out at the World Cup.
Clarke led the country out of the international wilderness and back to a major tournament. Not once, not twice, but three times in four attempts.
That in itself makes him a certainty for the Hampden hall of fame. All the more so given that he became the first Scotland manager in history to qualify for three major finals.
Steve Clarke became the first Scotland manager to qualify for three major finals
But the debate over his future was reignited earlier this week when Clarke was asked about the fact he is out of contract after the summer.
As for the likelihood of him staying on, Clarke said it was ‘50-50’, and admitted the ball was in the SFA’s court in terms of whether they want to offer him a new deal.
That was quite a shift in the situation. Throughout the World Cup qualifiers, and even after Scotland secured qualification that night against Denmark last November, the noises were that that Clarke would move on after the World Cup.
The landscape has changed. It’s now just a question of whether the SFA want him to stay on, or whether they believe a fresh start would be best for all parties.
From the SFA’s point of view, there are two scenarios here. They could thrash out a new deal right now, only to then face a fan backlash if Scotland stink the place out in the USA.
Or they can keep their powder dry and make a judgment based on how Scotland perform in the summer.
There might well be a clamour for Clarke’s future to be resolved before the tournament, given that it could be a distraction, but the sensible thing to do would be to wait and see how it goes.
It’s no secret that he fancies another crack at club management. He has been with Scotland since 2019, is now a better and more experienced manager, and would have a lot to offer potential employers.
Clarke and assistant Steven Naismith go crazy after Scotland’s remarkable win over Denmark last November saw them qualify for World Cup
Maybe his change in tone means he has assessed his options and feels there are no jobs that would really tickle his fancy.
Celtic could be an option. But you do wonder if he might be a tough sell to a fanbase already on the point of spontaneous combustion.
When you look at all this from the SFA’s perspective, it wouldn’t be a shock if they chose to renew Clarke’s contract. He has a close relationship with the chief executive Ian Maxwell.
When they look around at potential replacements, who are the obvious candidates? Derek McInnes would be the frontrunner, but he may well have just won a league title with Hearts.
Even if Hearts don’t win the league, they will have another go at it next season. It would be tough to drag McInnes away from that.
The SFA need to be very clear on what they are looking for. The World Cup could well be a swansong for several key figures within this squad.
Andy Robertson is 32, Grant Hanley is 34, John McGinn is 31. Craig Gordon, who will likely start in goal at the World Cup if he’s fit, is 43. There are no keepers coming through as serious replacements.
Robertson and McGinn may yet have one more tournament left in them beyond the World Cup, but it would be getting to the stage where serious forward planning is required.
It wouldn’t quite be a root-and-branch overhaul. But the squad would need to be refreshed moving forward. New talent would need to be blooded.
Does Clarke have the appetite to build another squad for the long-term? If there was some short-term pain in that process, would fans eventually hound him out?
You do wonder what a rebuild would look like under the 62-year-old, given his reluctance to move away from certain stalwarts within the squad or reward some of those performing within the Scottish Premiership at present.
His comments about Hearts and Motherwell players were clumsy.
Clarke said the reason none of their players had been selected in his latest squad was because those teams are greater than the sum of their parts. And yet he continues to select certain players who aren’t playing at all for their clubs, or are playing for clubs who aren’t doing anywhere near as the Tynecastle and Fir Park sides have this season.
Clarke has a good relationship with SFA chief Ian Maxwell, shown above at World Cup draw in Washington, but time may be right for a change of manager after tournament
Clarke’s legacy is already secure after leading Scots out of international wilderness
Many of the answers to all of this will depend on what happens in the World Cup. If Scotland fail to reach the knockouts, the majority of fans will call for Clarke to go.
That’s just how it works. Just the same as the vast majority called for him to go after Euro 2024. To his immense credit, he was able to turn that around in a way that few thought possible.
However, Clarke and Scotland cannot repeat the same mistakes they made in the previous two tournaments. They were awful and he was lucky not to be binned after the last major finals.
He now has a chance to rectify that on the grandest stage of all. If Scotland can get out of their section, where they face, Haiti, Morocco and Brazil, he will have achieved another bit of history.
Doing that, and then giving a good account of themselves in the knockout stages, would undoubtedly be a major improvement on what they have served up in the last two tournaments.
It would also be the perfect way for Clarke to bow out on a high. We can all have our mumps and moans about styles of play and whatever else but, over the piece, he has been a good manager for Scotland.
The results are there in black and white. His legacy is secure. All good things come to an end. The World Cup is the perfect juncture for Clarke and Scotland to have one glorious last hurrah before going their separate ways.
