\n<\/p>\n
At the time of Clarke’s appointment in May 2019, Scotland were looking for someone who could do one principal thing – get the country back to a major men’s tournament for the first time since 1998. <\/p>\n
That has been achieved, multiple times. So the remit for his successor will be to build on that success in qualifying for three finals by reaching the knockout phase.<\/p>\n
Clearly that is easier said than done. Clarke has done a magnificent job in galvanising the squad and the country, developing a much-lauded club-like spirit, which has certainly played a role in qualification success. <\/p>\n
That is something that must be fostered while evolving the make-up of a squad that was one of the oldest at the World Cup.<\/p>\n
But something else is required. Clarke was a pragmatist at heart and, although he set the team up in a more attacking formation in the win over Haiti, in particular, it never truly felt like the shackles were off.<\/p>\n
Should the next manager be someone with a more attacking ethos? You feel that would be welcomed by fans, many of whom have despaired at exiting consecutive Euros and now a World Cup without really laying a glove on the opposition.<\/p>\n
“This has been a special, special group. And he’s got the best out of them,” said former Scotland winger Pat Nevin, a close friend of Clarke.<\/p>\n
“But a lot of them are not going to last. I know these days 40 seems young for a World Cup player. In reality, that’s not the way it is, though. <\/p>\n
“It’s not obvious who the next group of players are. So whoever comes in, it’s actually a bit of a monster job to do.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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