Steve Clarke said it was an easy decision to step down as Scotland manager after failing to qualify for the last 16 of the World Cup, a goal he had set himself. The 62-year-old told his players at their hotel in Charlotte on Saturday evening that he would be ending his seven-year tenure after it was confirmed that Scotland had failed to progress from their group, containing Brazil, Morocco and Haiti. The shock announcement came exactly a month after he signed a new four-year contract which would tie him to the club until Euro 2028 and the 2030 World Cup. A request from the BBC for an interview with Clarke was refused and, instead, the Scottish Football Association published a video on YouTube in which the former manager, heavily criticized for back-to-back defeats to Morocco and Brazil, said he was leaving "just because he feels that way". “What I wanted to make sure was that when I felt it was time to step away, it was the right time,” Clarke said. "Signing the contract before the World Cup was a way to give some comfort to the players, knowing that we could continue the journey. I always had in mind that if we didn't get out of the group, which we tried to do in three tournaments, then it was probably the right time to leave. Obviously, if we managed to get that extra point and get out of the group, I probably would have stayed and tried to do another tournament." Image When asked if it had been an easy decision, Clarke responded philosophically: "In some aspects it was easy because I already had in mind what I wanted to achieve as a coach. I had also ticked all the boxes. I wanted to go to a big tournament with my country. I achieved that with the European Championships. The first European Championship was a bit different due to Covid. The second European Championship was fantastic. The tournament didn't go the way we wanted, but getting to Germany was fantastic. My lifelong ambition was to participate in a World Cup with my country. I did it, so it's not a bad time to retire." Clarke communicated his decision to his players at 7pm local time on Saturday, immediately after Scotland's exit from the tournament was confirmed. “It's obviously an emotional moment when you tell your players you're walking away after such a journey together,” he said. "I think seven or eight of them have been with me since the beginning. It was very important to me that the players knew first of all, and obviously just before going into the meeting I had to inform my captain [Andy Robertson] because I knew he would want to say a few words to me." Despite criticism of Scotland's group performance, Clarke believes they had a "brilliant" experience at the World Cup. "I said I would enjoy the tournament," he said. "Coming out for the match against Haiti with the Scottish fans there in their thousands and my family in the stands was the best moment. The next two matches were difficult. We faced difficult opponents. Morocco and Brazil can go very far in the tournament and we fought with them, no matter what anyone else may say. We fought, both matches were competitive. We showed a lot of character and played well. We didn't find the quality in the final phase of the pitch, but I can say that for all seven years we always tried to find that quality in the final stage of the field - and I hope my successor can do that." Evaluating his time at the helm, a “100% proud” Clarke believes he has achieved his goal of “changing the mentality of the group” and giving them confidence they can compete at the highest level. “We will become part of Scottish legend as we go forward,” he predicted. "People will talk about some of these games, some of these occasions, until the next century. Everyone keeps saying this group is finished. It's not finished yet, because they can all make it to Euro 2028." --- ## Related Articles 1. [Mundial 2026](https://azkalsgoal.com/fil/news/ibrahimovic-huwag-tawaging-kabiguan-ang-hapon-umalis-sila-na-taas-noo-sa-world-cup-2026) 2. [Mundial 2026](https://azkalsgoal.com/fil/news/world-cup-2026-rayan-cherki-muling-huling-kinasa-habang-pransya-rumatsada-sa-3-0-vs-sweden)