Those who have long advocated for the removal of Steve Clarke as Scotland manager may today be feeling like the dog who eventually catches the car. Now that they have what they desire, they have no idea what to do next.
That, of course, is not their job to decide, but a call that falls to Scottish FA chief executive Ian Maxwell. The available list of homegrown candidates though - particularly as Derek McInnes and Davie Moyes, who have long been seen as managers who will take on the role at some point, are currently unattainable - is hardly one to set Tartan Army tails wagging with enthusiasm.
Neither was the assurance from Maxwell the other night that ‘the succession planning starts now’, which seeing as Clarke had already resigned, seemed a little late. You might have thought that the SFA high heid yins would have a break glass in case of emergency list in a drawer somewhere of potential managers, but then again, given that they handed Clarke a four-year contract prior to the World Cup kicking off, perhaps not.
That decision to extend Clarke’s deal before seeing what happened in the States was a puzzling one at the time, even allowing for the subsequent explanation that the move was designed to offer comfort to the players, who – no matter what a section of the support may think - clearly adored working under him.
Now, those concerns over the timing of the deal, particularly in light of Clarke’s previous record at major tournaments, have been vindicated, and the SFA executive team have been left with more than a little egg on their faces after the contract designed to last four years instead lasted just four weeks.
The Clarke contract catastrophe may not exactly inspire much faith in the Tartan Army then that Maxwell is the man to identify and appoint someone capable of building upon the progress made over these past seven years and make Scotland a team who can now compete when they do reach the big stage, but in fairness to the former Partick Thistle CEO, he does have a decent hit rate with his selections for the big job.
Whatever you may think of Clarke, and even if you agree that a parting of the ways at this juncture is the best way forward for all concerned and the evolution of this Scotland team, you would have to be blinded by spite not to recognise that his appointment had been emphatically vindicated.
As it turned out, Maxwell’s first and so far, only choice as Scotland manager was the right one, at the right time. Clarke made the national side relevant again, restored the connection between the country and their representatives in the dark blue, and took us back to three major tournaments.
His critics will no doubt cry that it is easier to qualify than ever, but what is often ignored is that by winning their World Cup qualification group despite the obvious handicap of being third seeds, it would have been enough to reach any World Cup in history, with the new 48-team format an irrelevance in regards to that achievement.
That he ultimately hit the glass ceiling in major tournaments that so many highly regarded and even legendary Scottish managers – not to mention squads blessed with players of far greater talent than he had access to – had banged their heads against doesn’t detract from the fact that in the round, and by any measure laid out at the outset, the appointment of Clarke was a resounding success.
Now, though, it is time for something fresh. Maxwell has to show that he is capable and is willing to exhaust every avenue in sourcing the best possible manager to take this Scotland team to the next level, and if that means the next man in the dugout isn’t actually a Scot, then so be it.
Since the Berti Vogts era ended in something of a shambles, there seems to have been a reluctance from the SFA to look outside our own borders to bring in the best possible candidate for the job. But using the German’s ultimate failure as a reason to never again countenance a foreign influence makes about as much sense as holding up George Burley and Craig Levein’s reigns as justification to avoid former Hearts managers, or Gordon Strachan and Alex McLeish’s failure to reach a major tournament as a reason to rule out gingers.
Ideally, yes, a Scottish manager who understands the country and its football scene would be preferable. But if the best candidate happens not to be Scottish, then so be it. If it’s good enough for Brazil, then it should be good enough for us.
Admittedly, Scotland won’t be able to snare a manager of the calibre or wages of a Carlo Ancelotti, nor even I suspect an Ange Postecoglou these days, as much as many would love the stark contrast to his predecessor the big man’s front-footed approach would provide if he were to be tempted back to these shores.
But there are more than a few decent candidates out there beyond our borders who would likely jump at the chance to work with this squad of players. That’s not to say that Scotland should appoint a foreign coach just because it might be a sexier option than a John McGlynn, say. The football his Falkirk team have produced has been more than easy on the eye, but rightly or wrongly, there are worries that his managerial CV isn't at the level to command the instant respect of the stars within the Scotland squad.
Regardless, for all that defenders of Clarke may justifiably argue that his pragmatism played a major role in getting Scotland back to the top table, and that famous results in our recent(ish) history, such as doing the double over France under Walter Smith and McLeish, were masterclasses in soaking up pressure and producing a sucker punch, wearying familiarity with cautious tactics have long-since bred contempt.
Having thoroughly enjoyed their adventures in foreign climes under Clarke’s stewardship, the Tartan Army are now pining to see a bit of adventure on the pitch too, for better or worse.
The SFA should bear that in mind when weighing up their next move. Those who say we don’t have the players to play in such a way clearly didn’t see Stephen O’Donnell and Paul McGinn strutting their stuff for Motherwell last season. It’s a different standard, of course, but the point remains – with the right coach, professional players can be coaxed to levels many may not have thought they had in them.
Clarke deserves huge credit for putting bums back on seats at Hampden, but let’s now go and get someone who can get bums up off of them.
