Decision to resign after World Cup exit was easy - Clarke

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Steve Clarke stood down after seven years in charge of Scotland Published 38 minutes ago Steve Clarke says it was an easy decision to step down as Scotland head coach because he always planned to depart if they did not qualify for the knock-out stages. The 62-year-old told his players on Saturday night, at their hotel in Charlotte, that he was ending his seven-year reign after it was confirmed that the Scots had failed to get out of a group containing Brazil, Morocco and Haiti. The shock announcement came exactly a month after he signed a new four-year contract that would have incorporated Euro 2028 and the 2030 World Cup. A request from the BBC to interview Clarke was declined and, instead, the Scottish Football Association released its own on You Tube , external and the former head coach – heavily criticised in some quarters following back-to-back defeats by Morocco and Brazil – said he was leaving "just because that's the feel". Pampered, protected & primed - so why didn't Scotland players perform? Published 3 hours ago Nothing off table in Clarke successor search - SFA Published 16 hours ago Clarke leaves strong Scotland legacy but exit brings sense of relief Published 1 day ago "What I wanted to make sure was that when I felt it was time to step away, it was time to step away," he said. "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, I always had in my head that if that didn't happen then it was probably the right time to step away. "Obviously if we'd managed to get that extra point and got out of the group then I'd probably have stayed on and tried to do another tournament." Asked if it was an easy decision, a philosophical Clarke said: "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. I did that with the Euros. The first Euros [in 2021] was a little bit not the Euros because it was Covid affected. "The second Euros 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 says World Cup experience 'brilliant' Clarke told his players of his decision at 19:00 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 that you're stepping away after such a journey together," he 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