Major Scotland milestone in sight but Steve Clarke insists full focus is on ending World Cup hoodoo
The Scotland boss has been looking ahead to opening their World Cup qualifying campaign next month after naming his 25-man squad
Steve Clarke strolls into the auditorium at Hampden Park in his usual relaxed and laidback manner with one thing on his mind.
Ahead of what could potentially be historic year for both himself and the Scotland national team, Clarke is happy to put a significant milestone aside if it means guiding his country to a World Cup.
Not only is he closing in on becoming Scotland’s longest-serving manager of all-time, the former Kilmarnock boss is also gearing up for what could ultimately prove to be his final opportunity to end the Scots’ 27-year wait to qualify for the holy grail of international football.
Renowned for his intransigent and calm demeanour, Clarke doesn’t often give much away. However, deep down he will know that this could be his last chance to achieve what his predecessors dating back to 1998 couldn’t.
“I've got to get there first,” Clarke chuckles when asked if it would be a huge source of pride to overhaul Craig Brown’s record of 71 games in charge of the national team.
All joking aside, Clarke is focused on the task in hand after naming his first 25-man squad for the upcoming qualifying double-header away to Denmark and Belarus next month.
“That's not important to me (the milestone). What’s important is the qualification, that's what we're going to focus on,” Clarke stated. “It would be great (to lead Scotland to a World Cup).
“You want to be in the major tournaments. We've spoken about it. We don't want to wait since 1998 since the last World Cup. That's a long time. It's probably too long, so hopefully this time we can do it.”
There was no surprise inclusions in Clarke’s latest roster, with full-back Aaron Hickey returning to the fold for the first time in two years and fit-again striker Lyndon Dykes available for selection for the first time in 2025.
"It was particularly difficult this time,” Clarke confessed when asked about leaving players out who have been regulars in previous squads such as Lawrence Shankland, Greg Taylor and Tommy Conway.
“I think that’s because I've opened the squad up a little bit in the summer with some more younger ones just to give them a taste. From the summer camp only Kieron (Bowie) and Lennon (Miller) have stayed in and around the scene. The rest of the boys have caught my eye.
“I feel a little bit sorry for Tommy, he missed out this time, but I've got Lyndon back fit. I just feel that Lyndon's experience can give us a little bit more up front, certainly for these two away games. But Tommy's another one that we shouldn't forget about in the future.
Clarke continued: “The September squad is always a little bit unpredictable because you're never too sure who's going to be where. There may be one or two players that are on last minute transfers. Hopefully they're all settled and comfortable for next week.
“It's probably one of the most unpredictable squads of the course. When I look at that squad, it's got a lot of good experience in it, players that know how to qualify for major tournaments and I'm hopeful we can do that again.”
Clarke revealed in a recent interview with BBC Scotland that he feels a degree of pressure to end Scotland’s World Cup hoodoo - but it’s a pressure that excites him heading into a shorter than usual qualifying campaign consisting of just six games to be played over the course of September, October and November.
“That's what we live on,” Clarke admitted. “We live on pressure in this game. If you don't thrive on the pressure, then you should probably be out hanging up your boots, or your jacket, whistle, and stopwatch in my case.
“It's something that comes with the territory. I mentioned pressure, but at the same time I should have mentioned excitement because you're excited for the challenge.
“It's a really short qualifying campaign, six games. We're all ready to go. It's a little bit different than the bigger groups normally spread over the course of the year.
“We've got it over three months. It'll be different, but the criteria is the same. Pick up the points where you can pick up the points, make sure you've got enough points to qualify.”