Gordon Strachan will continue as the Scotland manager for the World Cup 2018 qualification campaign, it has been confirmed.
Strachan took charge of his country in January 2013 and had a deal worth £500,000 a year which expired this week, when Scotland’s attempt to reach Euro 2016 officially ended. The Scottish FA was always anxious for the 58-year-old to remain in office and firmly believed he would do but Strachan himself shed doubt on the situation by refusing to commit until he had spoken to both his backroom staff and his family. He has now signed a two-year contract extension, as he had intimated last Saturday.
England are among the opposition in the Scots’ World Cup group. Scotland have not qualified for a major tournament since 1998.
“It is an honour and a privilege to manage my country and, in a way, that has made the disappointment of not qualifying for Euro 2016 all the more profound,” said Strachan.
“Nonetheless the reaction from the supporters throughout the campaign, and in particular from those who travelled to Faro in their thousands, is an experience that will live with me for the rest of my life. It was a recognition that the players’ efforts had been appreciated.
“That appreciation and goodwill has also been apparent in the messages of support I have received this week, from emails and letters to chats in the street.
“I want the best for our country and for those players and I believe we can make Scotland proud in the upcoming qualifiers. For that reason I am delighted to have been asked to continue in my role and I look forward to working with my backroom staff and the players to improve on the previous campaign and look forward to the World Cup qualifiers with optimism.”
Scotland lost out on a European Championship play-off spot to the Republic of Ireland. Strachan will speak publicly on Saturday, when he is part of BT Sport’s punditry team for the Scottish top flight meeting of Motherwell and Celtic. Mark McGhee, Strachan’s assistant with Scotland, was appointed this week as the manager of Motherwell for a second time.
“The board of the Scottish FA has been consistent in our belief that Gordon should continue the good work that has been apparent in many performances and results throughout the previous campaign,” said Stewart Regan, the Scottish FA’s chief executive. “Similarly the supporters and the players have been overwhelming in their view that Gordon is the national coach to lead us into the World Cup qualifying campaign. The mutual respect and stability that exists is essential to our future success and we all look forward to planning for Russia 2018.”
