\n<\/p>\n
13 June<\/b> – Scotland labour to a 1-0 victory over Haiti at the Boston Stadium – just their fifth World Cup win. “My boys are all right,” was his response as some questioned the performance.<\/p>\n
Despite that, it was a Scotland win on the major stage, and there was a wave of relief that they didn’t slip up – heightened more by the performances of Cape Verde and DR Congo.<\/p>\n
15 June<\/b> – During a regular in-camp media conference, Naismith joked that Clarke was “doing cartwheels at breakfast” after the Haiti win.<\/p>\n
The former forward put a real emphasis on the pre-tournament preparations and the head coach’s desire to enjoy this edition.<\/p>\n
19 June<\/b> – Scotland concede within the first two minutes of their match with Morocco and despite improving in the second half, they taste defeat. Afterwards Clarke receives some criticism after a tense off-pitch interview saying: “I don’t even know why we do these interviews.”<\/p>\n
23 June<\/b> – Speaking before the Brazil match, Clarke joked of returning to the Azteca Stadium in the last 32 – a place where he once scored as a player at the World Youth Championships in 1983. <\/p>\n
“If we have to go to Mexico to play Mexico, we’ll be happy because it will mean we qualified. We’ll be very happy to have the chance to go.”<\/p>\n
24 June<\/b> – Scotland crash to a 3-0 defeat against Brazil in Miami leaving their chance of reaching the knockout stages for the first time in tatters. <\/p>\n
Post-match Clarke comes under more scrutiny for his approach in his post-match interviews. After another short, tense exchange where he appears to walk off, he tells the media later, “for sure we are going home”.<\/p>\n
Such negativity floors the fanbase, when the Scots still had a 42% chance of creating history.<\/p>\n
25-26 June: <\/b>As that percentage plummets, so does the access doors to the squad. Nobody speaks to the media while the nation is in limbo.<\/p>\n
27\/28 June<\/b> – Just before midnight in the UK, Scotland’s fate is sealed as Croatia beat Ghana to confirm their exit from the tournament as one of the lowest-ranked third-place teams. <\/p>\n
Thirty-two minutes later, it is announced Clarke has resigned as Scotland head coach penning a 1,000-word letter to the nation saying his overwhelming emotion was “pride, closely followed by satisfaction” and witnessing “the reconnection of our national team and fans”.<\/p>\n
His departure was only announced to the squad 10 minutes beforehand, with Clarke sharing the shocking news to those he credited most in his heartfelt cheerio.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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