{"id":766225,"date":"2026-06-28T18:33:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T18:33:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/766225\/"},"modified":"2026-06-28T18:33:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T18:33:10","slug":"small-minded-sfa-must-ditch-parochial-mentality-if-scotland-are-to-thrive-scotland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/766225\/","title":{"rendered":"Small-minded SFA must ditch parochial mentality if Scotland are to thrive | Scotland"},"content":{"rendered":"

There was one element of the Scottish Football Association\u2019s otherwise baffling decision to give\u00a0Steve Clarke a four\u2011year deal weeks before a World Cup<\/a> ball had been kicked that made sense.<\/p>\n

When assessing alternatives to Clarke as the Scotland manager, it is apparent that paucity of talent among the country\u2019s footballers is replicated in the coaching ranks. Clarke\u2019s sudden resignation<\/a> places the SFA in a position it was not only desperate to avoid but requires something it typically lacks; out\u2011of\u2011the-box thinking. Clarke has\u00a0spared himself and his paymasters an acrimonious, lengthy goodbye while placing them in precisely the quandary they thought they had seen off.<\/p>\n

History should treat Clarke fondly. He ended his nation\u2019s painful wait to appear at major tournaments. This was done three\u00a0times, despite massive limitations on playing resources, to\u00a0which Clarke\u2019s critics appear blind. It was such a pity his tenure ended amid polemic relating to another finals disappointment. Scotland<\/a> froze at the World Cup, which is at least partly the responsibility of coaching.<\/p>\n

Had Clarke determined, as was originally his position, that this World Cup and a seven-year stint was sufficient to stop familiarity breeding contempt, people would have been more sanguine about his departure. This always felt a salient end point. Instead there is bewilderment about why his paymasters seemed unwilling to factor in events in the US when tying up Clarke for a potential tenure of more than a decade<\/a>. The\u00a0SFA\u2019s approach to all things Clarke has been typically tone deaf\u00a0and arrogant.<\/p>\n

Clarke does not need the aggravation provided by a demanding football nation and an ageing player pool that is diminishing all the time. He does not need the money, either; the 62-year-old has admitted previously that he timed his switch from assistant to manager when he was self-sufficient enough to fail. It turned out he did not anyway. While Clarke will be hurt by the nature of Scotland\u2019s timid exit, one glance at his demeanour during post\u2011match media duties in Miami on Wednesday depicted an individual who could live a far more peaceful life.<\/p>\n

John McGinn\u2019s sub-par performances left Scotland struggling at the World Cup. Photograph: Andrew Milligan\/PA<\/p>\n

Clarke is an honourable man who\u00a0has done an honourable and rare thing by choosing to walk out on guaranteed money. Criticism of\u00a0him has all-too-often been personal and over the top. And it was striking that in a lengthy open\u00a0letter to supporters and staff, Clarke did not expand on the\u00a0precise reasons for his resignation or thoughts on why Scotland fell short in the US. As the 11th-ranked third-placed team out of 12, the Scots were a long way\u00a0adrift of their\u00a0stated aim of reaching the last 32.<\/p>\n

The SFA is left in the position of having to prove its decision\u2011making can be anything other than lazy. Administrative lightweights, so fond of the limelight under circumstances of their own choosing, will need to raise their game. The recent appointment of Craig Mulholland as chief football officer has done nothing to remove the whiff of a culture that is all too cosy and narrow in outlook.<\/p>\n

The position vacated by Clarke is no longer a job for a Scot. Instead it is a fortunate opportunity to allow a world outside Glasgow to assess and improve a national football model that is failing badly. Scotland\u00a0must look towards coaches who have made great strides at similarly sized nations. Fixing sights on managers in other countries is not because the SFA need to be bold or different; it is an essential move at this point in time.<\/p>\n

Only two Scottish managers \u2013 David Moyes and Alex Neil \u2013 feature in English football\u2019s top two leagues. Derek McInnes has always been portrayed as a Scotland manager in waiting. So, too, has Moyes. Club commitments render both unattainable. McInnes aside, there are five Scottish managers in the Scottish top flight. The only credible candidate for the national job among them is John McGlynn, who has worked wonders at Falkirk. There will be concern over whether McGlynn\u2019s skills could transfer sufficiently to wow Scott McTominay or John McGinn. The riposte is that the output of both players has been so dismal in back-to-back tournaments that the argument is irrelevant.<\/p>\n

Steven Naismith was Clarke\u2019s assistant at the World Cup. Photograph: Andrew Milligan\/PA<\/p>\n

Steven Naismith, Clarke\u2019s assistant, will inevitably be quoted as a candidate, but the 39\u2011year\u2011old must be culpable by association for a grim World Cup. Even by his standards of landing jobs he barely seems qualified for, it would be extraordinary were he the best the SFA could source. Paul Lambert, another name floated, has not managed since leaving Ipswich in 2021.<\/p>\n

People in positions of power and elsewhere in Scottish football shudder at the mention of Berti Vogts. The German\u2019s spell in charge of Scotland is perceived as disastrous and erratic. The allegations are partly fair, albeit he inherited a declining and geriatric squad. Ange Postecoglou ticks almost every box for Scotland. It does, however, seem fanciful to suggest the same applies in reverse.<\/p>\n

Scotland\u2019s domestic game has never been more multicultural. When Hearts needed to replace Rangers-bound McInnes<\/a> they turned towards Belgium. Jens Berthel Askou worked wonders at Motherwell last season having been plucked from the coaching system at Copenhagen. It is arrogant to believe Scotland\u2019s football system cannot learn from others. England have a German manager. The mighty Brazil have no issue with an Italian in Carlo Ancelotti. Fresh eyes can assist with overall development that is essential for Scotland. Small\u2011mindedness and a parochial mentality has harmed the country\u2019s national sport for decades.<\/p>\n

Clarke\u2019s replacement must be in position before Scotland begin another Nations League campaign in September. Thereafter comes \u2013 on paper, anyway \u2013 the relatively straightforward task of qualifying for Euro 2028. Scotland\u2019s path will be easier as a host nation. A key Clarke achievement has been the raising of expectations. The SFA now has the capacity to douse some of the noise; they can do so by\u00a0ignoring borders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There was one element of the Scottish Football Association\u2019s otherwise baffling decision to give\u00a0Steve Clarke a four\u2011year deal…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":766226,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,596,85],"class_list":["post-766225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-football","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/766225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=766225"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/766225\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/766226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=766225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=766225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=766225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}