TIME FOR THE NEXT PHASE
tournament drought with an appearance at the Euros. The 57-year-old’s deal was due to end after next year’s World Cup in Qatar but now it has been lengthened.
Clarke says it feels like the next phase of his spell and is desperate to keep building. He said: “Stage two? Yeah, you could say that. That’s quite a good way to put it.
“You come in as Scotland head coach and you get the two tournaments.
“Basically your brief is that you’ve got to qualify.
“It was nice to get the first one and get the qualification done. And the reason for extending was just getting another tournament to keep it at two tournaments.
“We got that monkey off our back and it’s now time to do that more consistently.
“I’ve two tournaments to try to do that. The little taste we got of the European Championships in the summer has made everybody excited for more, so hopefully we can deliver.
“It took me a little while to get to grips with the different aspects of the national job.
“Recently I have enjoyed it, if it is ever possible to enjoy the job.
“It is a good challenge and it takes me out of my comfort zone a little bit at times, which is good.
“I like to challenge myself. I am committed to helping us return to a major tournament as quickly as possible and improving on what we have achieved until now.”
The national manager has also reshuffled his backroom team, with Austin MacPhee and Chris
Woods joining, as assistant Steven Reid and goalkeeping coach Stevie Woods step down for family and club reasons respectively.
MacPhee and Woods will both be involved in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Denmark, Moldova and Austria, which get under way a week today.
Clarke said: “The first thing for me is to pay tribute to Steven and Stevie, who were a big part of my team right from the first minute I came into the job.
“In Austin, I have someone different to Steven. He is going to bring a different dynamic to the squad and he also has a good reputation and record in an area where I think we can improve a little bit, which is set-plays for and against.
“At this level it can be absolutely crucial. That could see us pick up the two or three extra points that we need to qualify.
“Stevie decided only a couple of weeks ago it was the right time for him to step aside, so I looked out my contacts and managed to track down Chris.
“He is a good lad. Quite importantly, he knows the Scottish scene. He knows the little peculiarities of Scottish football, he understands it.”