Scottish FA chief blasts 'staggering' view that new Steve Clarke contract is a gamble

The chief executive was speaking after confirmation that Clarke had signed a four-year contract taking him up to the 2030 World Cup, when he will be 66.

Having already led Scotland to three out of four major finals, Clarke now has the chance to take the team to another two tournaments while also surpassing Craig Brown as longest-serving manager. He has already overseen more games (76) than anyone else.

Brown led Scotland for eight years between 1993 and 2001 and Clarke will have been in charge for 11 years if he remains for the length of his new deal.

However, not everyone is delighted with the news Clarke is staying. The manager himself rated his chances of leaving as “75-25” last Autumn before altering this to “50-50” earlier this year. He said he was “waiting to see if any club jobs (come up) or anyone approaches me between now and the end of the season”.

Maxwell confirmed that the SFA had received no approaches from interested parties and stressed he was always hopeful Clarke would extend his stay. He also revealed there was no break clause."It’s four years," he said. "The same contract he has always signed.”

Maxwell attributed the timing – just four days before Scotland leave for the United States for the World Cup – to the amount of preparation work that had to be done before this summer’s finals.

‘The timing hasn’t been a problem for us’

He also noted that it “has been an interesting few weeks for Scottish football”, with reference to the various controversies arising from the dramatic climax of the domestic season in Scotland.

“There has been a lot to deal with and we have had to juggle a lot,” he said. “The timing hasn’t been a problem for us, it was more of an external thing, than internal.”

He dismissed those who feel the SFA are now a hostage to fortune, given Scotland face tough upcoming World Cup group stage assignments.

Anything less than a win in the first game against Haiti next month will put the pressure firmly back on Clarke, who faced severe criticism for his tactics after Scotland crashed out of Euro 2024 at the first stage two summers ago in Germany. A vocal section of the Tartan Army wanted the manager to leave then.

“How is it a gamble to give a guy who had taken us to three out of four major finals a new contract?” asked Maxwell. “That is a problem with football.

“Everybody is instant. They say, ‘That manager has lost a game, let’s sack him’.

“That is not how we work. We have always taken a longer-term, balanced view on it. When you look how Steve has done since he came, it’s pretty staggering for anyone to say that giving him a new contract is a gamble.”

Maxwell admitted there was some anxiety on the part of the SFA that Clarke might be enticed away. “The way football works, that’s always in the back of your mind especially when someone is successful,” he said. “He’s had a successful club career. He was a high-profile assistant manager then he did well at West Brom. He also did really well at Kilmarnock.

“So you’ve always got that niggle at the back of your mind that at some point the phone’s going to ring. Thankfully it didn’t and we’re delighted that it hasn’t because we’d never want to lose him.

“It probably suits him at this stage of his football career and life. When you look at men’s international managers for a lot of them it’s club, club, club then international. But he’s really settled, he knows what he’s doing and he has a real understanding of international football. It suits him and he obviously enjoys it.”