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.

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.

“In some respects it was easy because I already had in my head what I wanted to achieve as a head coach. I’d also ticked all the boxes. I wanted to go to a major tournament with my country. The first Euros [in 2021] was a little bit not the Euros because it was Covid-affected. The second Euros [in 2024] was great.

“The tournament didn’t go as we wanted but getting to Germany was fantastic. My lifelong ambition was to do a World Cup with my country. I’ve done that, so not a bad time to step aside.”

Clarke told his players of his decision at 7pm local time on Saturday. “It’s an emotional moment when you tell your players that you’re stepping away after such a journey together,” the 62-year-old said. “I think seven or eight of them have been with me from the start, right the way through.

“It was very important to me that the players knew first, and obviously just before I went into the meeting I had to tell my captain [Andy Robertson] because I knew that he’d want to say a few words back to me. Saying goodbye to my staff and my players was emotional.”

Despite the backlash to Scotland’s group-stage performance – their only victory came in their opening game against Haiti, and that by a single goal, with lacklustre defeats following against Morocco and Brazil – Clarke is adamant he had a “brilliant” World Cup experience.

skip past newsletter promotionFree newsletter | Every weekday

Sign up to Football Daily

Kick off your evenings with the Guardian’s take on the world of football

“Coming out for the Haiti game with the Scotland fans there in their thousands and my family in the stands was just the best moment,” he said. “The next two games were tough. We played difficult opponents. Morocco and Brazil, both of them can go really deep in the tournament and we competed with them, no matter what other people might say.

“We showed a lot of character and we played some good stuff. We didn’t find the quality in the final third of the pitch but I could maybe say that across the whole seven years we’ve always been chasing and trying to find that quality in the final third of the pitch, and I hope my successor manages to do that.”

The Scotland squad landed back at Glasgow airport on Monday morning.