Steve Clarke extends Scotland’s good vibes as well as his contract

S teve Clarke has shown a useful knack of assisting the Scottish Football Association’s public relations. Progression to the delayed Euro 2020 finals ended a tale of woe that stretched back to 1998. A draw with Ukraine last September sealed qualification to the top tier of the Nations League. The incessantly negative din that accompanies matters relating to Scottish football has occasionally abated thanks to the work of Clarke and his team. A functioning national side masks all manner of administrative sins.

This theme continued as Scotland prepared to open their Euro 2024 campaign with a visit from Cyprus. Clarke informed his squad on Friday morning that he had extended his contract until the World Cup in 2026. “We are all delighted,” said the captain, Andy Robertson. “Since the manager came in, there has been a much more positive feeling around the team. We believe under this manager we can get better.”

This came at the end of a week in which the Scottish FA has been berated for the ongoing mess that is VAR implementation. John Carver, Clarke’s assistant, turned heads by claiming the training base Scotland had recently used in Edinburgh represented a “safety hazard.” Scottish fans reacted with understandable fury after a replica shirt was put on sale for £90, meaning punters were unsure whether to wear said jerseys or frame them. As 50,000 prepare to descend on Hampden Park, they will be buoyed by managerial continuity.

“The next improvements are going to be more difficult to make,” said Clarke. “I don’t want us to go to 2024 and that’s it. We have to think of 2026, 2028. You want to enter every campaign thinking you can qualify.” If Clarke was devoid of that belief, he would not have signed on the dotted line.

Clark