Clarke claims he was always going to quit if tournament went badly

Steve Clarke has said it was an easy decision to step down from his role as Scotland head coach because he always planned to do so if the World Cup did not go to plan.

- Anthony Brown

Clarke told his players on Saturday night, at their Charlotte hotel, that he was ending his seven-year tenure after it was confirmed Scotland had failed to get out of their group. The announcement came a month after he signed a four-year contract that would have incorporated Euro 2028 and the 2030 World Cup.

“What I wanted to make sure was that when I felt it was time to step away, it was time to step away,” Clarke said in an interview posted on the Scottish Football Association’s official website. “Signing the contract before [the World Cup] was a case of trying to give a little bit of comfort to the players knowing that we could continue the journey.

“I always had in my head that if we didn’t come out of the group, which is something that we’ve tried to do across three tournaments now, it was probably the right time to step away.