Steve Clarke drops Scotland future hint and explains Oli McBurnie World Cup snub with scolding remarks

The manager’s contract expires as soon as Scotland’s World Cup adventure is over. So far Clarke has given little away regarding expressing a preference to stay or go – he said it was “50-50” as recently as March. Last year he rated his chances of remaining in charge as “25-75”.

He has mentioned before having one more club job left in him. Either way, Clarke, who turns 63 in August, suggested an announcement is imminent after naming his 26-man squad for North America on Tuesday at Hampden.

Scotland will initially head to Florida, where they will spend a few days acclimatising, following next Saturday’s farewell friendly against Dick Advocaat’s Curacao. The squad will then fly to New Jersey for a final warm-up match against Bolivia before facing Haiti in the opening match on 14 June in Foxborough.

Clarke was initially reluctant to discuss his own future on a day when he wanted the spotlight to remain on the players. Southampton striker Ross Stewart, who won his last cap four years ago, was the main headline after being included among five forwards. Rangers winger Findlay Curtis, who turns 20 just before the World Cup starts, has also made the cut after a productive loan spell with Kilmarnock.

Asked if he wanted his situation confirmed before boarding the plane to the States, Clarke replied: “I am pretty sure it will be. But let’s just talk about the squad, not me. I am not important today.”

Pressed again on the subject, he sounded convinced that everything would be settled by the time Scotland leave on 31 May. “Hopefully. That would be the plan,” he said. Clarke is due to face the media again as soon as next Friday before the Curacao match.

He added that he understood why questions about his future were being asked, given the continued uncertainty.

Clarke himself announced in March, when naming the squad for friendlies against Japan and Ivory Coast, that he wanted his future settled before the World Cup and that he would “wait and see” if any interested clubs approached him in the meantime.

The manager has had a lot on his plate as he bids to make some more history with Scotland and reach the second stage of a major tournament for the first time.

McBurnie snub explained

As well as Stewart and Curtis, Wrexham skipper Dom Hyam and Ipswich Town striker George Hirst were celebrating career highlights following news that they had made the squad.

Others, including Oli McBurnie, were processing their disappointment. In the case of Hull City's McBurnie, he was probably also firmly regretting the decision to release the details of a private conversation with Clarke earlier this year.

The forward contacted the manager for an explanation following repeated squad snubs. He has not played for Scotland since a 4-0 win over the Faroe Islands over five years ago but has scored 18 goals in the English Championship this season for Hull City, who are now one game away from the Premier League.

The English club posted a pointed message on X after it was confirmed McBurnie had missed out on a World Cup place: “18 goals this season btw”. In addition to a photograph of the striker celebrating a goal, they also included a fire emoji.

But McBurnie seems to have burned his own bridges after publicly discussing a call he made to the manager in March, following his exclusion from the squad for the Japan and Ivory Coast games.

“I thought that was a private conversation to be honest,” said Clarke as the temperature grew distinctly cooler inside the Hampden auditorium. “He should not have gone to the media.”

Asked if his McBurnie stance can be attributed to a personality clash between the pair, he said it was just the way he worked. “I tend to stick with players I have had before,” he said. “I trust them. They know what I expect from that and that is it. It is just a natural selection process – natural in my head anyway, maybe not natural in everybody else’s.”

McBurnie will note that Stewart has returned to the fold after a long absence, one partially ascribed to a serious Achilles injury.

The Southampton striker has scored 11 goals this season and had been due to face McBurnie in this weekend’s Championship play-off final at Wembley before Saints were expelled after a member of the South Coast club’s coaching staff was caught spying on a Middlesbrough training session before the first leg of their play-off semi-final.

“Ross obviously was in my squad a few years ago and showed that he could come up to this level,” explained Clarke. “He was good in the squad. And then he’s had a terrible run of injuries.”

Stewart won the last of his two caps to date against the Republic of Ireland in 2022. “It’s a good story,” the manager added.

Clarke revealed that several players will be notified to be on standby, including former Hibs striker Kieron Bowie.

A goal at the weekend in the San Siro for Hellas Verona against champions Inter Milan was not enough to force his way into Clarke’s plans. “He will be a big player for Scotland in the future,” the manager stated.

Clarke also revealed he will bring in a “27th member” of the squad – a young training goalkeeper – to cover for Craig Gordon, who has not played competitively since January due to a shoulder injury.

Callan McKenna, a 19-year-old youth keeper at Bournemouth, has fulfilled this role before. Clarke explained that he had sent goalkeeper coach Chris Woods to watch the 43-year-old Gordon in training at Hearts. “Craig assures us he’s fully fit, and he deserves to go because he played a part in the qualifying campaign,” said the manager.