Write off Steve Clarke at your peril – Scotland have the right man at the helm

Likened to Jose Mourinho by Scott McTominay, described as “an outstanding human being” by former colleagues, and someone who tactically “held all the aces.” Steve Clarke has produced a Scotland team capable of competing at the highest level.

Following a well-earned 0-0 draw at Wembley, the Tartan Army were defeated 3-1 by Croatia and failed to progress to the knockout stages of their first major tournament since the 1998 World Cup in France.

Whilst missing out on qualification will come as a blow to the nation, Scotland should take comfort that they have transitioned from a feeling of jealousy after missing out on Euro 2016, to becoming the envy of fellow nations.

This is largely down to one man. Clarke has built a team that has its supporters rightly optimistic for what the future holds.

Despite crashing out of Euro 2020, they must do all they can to retain the services of the former Chelsea full-back. With the consistent turnover of managers in English football, it would come as no surprise if Clarke was of interest to a host of clubs.

With him remaining in charge, qualification for next year’s World Cup is very much a possibility with the team having made a positive start to life in Group F.

But Clarke’s success comes as no surprise to those who know him and his teams best.

Clarke was highly dependable and loyal as a player. Following five years and 200 appearances at St Mirren, he joined Chelsea in 1987 and won plenty of admirers at Stamford Bridge.

Also capable of filling in at centre-back and in midfield, former Blues defender Michael Duberry, described Clarke as “Gordon Ramsay of the dressing room.” But his football intelligence was clear for those to see.

As were his leadership skills which developed in time. Former Chelsea and Scotland team-mate Pat Nevin explained, “When he said something, everyone shut up and listened.”

It wasn’t just his teammates that Clarke left a lasting impression on. Ruud Gullit -who was player-manager of Chelsea between 1996 and 1998- appointed Clarke as his assistant manager at Newcastle United in which was the beginning of his coaching adventure. Bringing an end to his playing career after 330 appearances in West London.

2004 was a vital year in Clarke’s career, with Jose Mourinho joining Chelsea and promoting Clarke to assistant manager following a stint managing the youth set-up at Stamford Bridge.

Clarke was more than just a mere British representative amongst a Portuguese-dominated backroom team and was influential in building a side that won two Premier Leagues, two League Cups and an FA Cup.

Following Mourinho’s departure and a spell working with Avram Grant, Clarke opted for pastures new and left his stomping ground.

Gianfranco Zola was another ex-Chelsea compatriot that enlisted the services of Clarke, whilst in charge of West Ham United in 2008. The Scot was highly rated so highly by those at the club, he was made the Premier League’s highest-paid assistant manager.

Another footballing heavyweight showed their admiration with Kenny Dalglish appointing Clarke as first-team coach at Liverpool in 2011. The duo were credited with turning the tide at Anfield with the Reds going on to win the League Cup later that year. Clarke was also highly thought of by the Liverpool hierarchy with his resignation offer declined by the board in a bid to persuade him to remain at the club.

Though Clarke would eventually leave for his first role in full-time management that summer, despite completing his pro-license qualification six years earlier. Clarke made such an impression on West Bromwich Albion Technical and Sporting Director, Dan Ashworth, he was given the job forty-eight hours after talks commenced.

Albion and Clarke got off to a flyer after cruising to a 3-0 home win against Liverpool on the opening day of the 2012/2013 season. And it couldn’t get much better for either party come Boxing Day 2012 with the Baggies level on points with Tottenham in fourth.

Whilst Clarke’s coaching capabilities were renowned throughout the country, his contacts also played a vital part in the successful season, with Romelu Lukaku joining on loan from Chelsea. The Belgian striker would go on to score 17  goals at the Hawthorns in what is widely considered a vital season in Lukaku’s development.

Top-level coaches should not only be tactically astute but must also possess the people skills to maintain a positive and respectful relationship with their players. And from one personal experience, Clarke has these in abundance.

As an 11-year-old Baggies fan, the opportunity to be a club mascot on an away trip to the Madjeski Stadium was a thrilling experience.

Being the away team on this occasion, Reading staff required permission for me to enter the dressing room to meet Albion players and staff.

Clarke played a big part in making my father and I feel welcome amongst the squad with every player open to interacting and taking pictures.

But we were cautious to approach the boss for a photograph as he was engrossed in reading the matchday programme away from anyone else and would unlikely want to be disturbed.

However, he was more than willing to talk to us about the day and take that picture I wanted ever so desperately. For this act alone, I will always respect and hold fond memories of Clarke.

Unfortunately, the hosts ended up scoring three goals in the last eight minutes to complete a remarkable comeback. Though that’s a story for another day!

Clarke also had to contend with Peter Odemwingie’s deadline day debacle which saw the Nigerian forward arrive at Loftus Road without a formal agreement being made between the clubs. This somewhat inevitably derailed Albion’s season with Clarke’s side only winning four out of a possible 19 games after Boxing Day.

Nonetheless, guiding the Baggies to a highest-ever Premier League finish of eighth was impressive work by Clarke and co which led to hopes that the 2013/2014 season could be even better than the previous one.

But cracks seriously began to emerge throughout the summer of 2013, with the highly-rated Ashworth having followed Roy Hodgson from the Hawthorns to the FA.

Legal Director Richard Garlick assumed the role that Ashworth vacated, whilst it’s believed that Chairman Jeremy Peace took a back seat that summer and left day-to-day responsibilities in the hands of Garlick, CEO Mark Jenkins and the newly appointed Director of Technical Performance and Scouting, Dave McDonough.

McDonough – a former Liverpool computer analyst who is fluent in Spanish and worked with Rafa Benitez on Merseyside – played an active role in recruitment and is thought to have overruled the club’s reputable scouting system.  He was influential in signing the likes of Diego Lugano, Matej Vydra, Victor Anichebe and Stephane Sessegnon.

Those deals were perhaps completed without the necessary level of consent from Clarke who was even informed of Vydra’s arrival by the press. Unsurprisingly he wasn’t happy.

Peace also arguably let down Clarke by missing out on the opportunity to secure a second-season loan for Lukaku, who was instead persuaded to join Everton despite being keen on a permanent switch to the West Midlands.

Whilst Albion got off to a slow start after failing to score in their first three games, they then beat Manchester United 2-1 at Old Trafford and picked up impressive points against Arsenal and Chelsea. Though the 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge was marred by controversy following a debatable last-minute penalty awarded by Andre Mariner when it was clear that midfielder Ramires had in fact dived.

That rotten luck continued into the next game against local rivals Aston Villa where Sessegnon somehow missed the target from three yards out and failed to put his side 3-0 up in a game that would eventually end 2-2.

A run of four consecutive defeats followed before Clarke was sacked by the Baggies, a decision which to this day is still considered harsh by supporters.

Clarke – coincidentally in the context of this article was appointed – was appointed manager of Reading, one year after leaving West Brom.

Once again, success was not too difficult for Clarke to find as he guided the Royals to their first FA Cup semi-final in 88 years. Although the club’s league form was far from ideal with Reading finishing the season just nine points outside the relegation.

However, a bright start to the 2015-2016 season including wins against fourth-placed Burnley and second-placed Middlesbrough made Reading early title contenders in October.

With the Royals sitting just outside the play-off positions everything was looking rosy at the Madjeski Stadium. That is before Fulham came sniffing.

The Cottagers approached Clarke in November with the Scot believed to be keen on taking over at Craven Cottage. However, Clarke opted to stay in Berkshire although something did not feel quite right from then onwards.

One win in eight games had seen the Royals fall into a midtable position but within three points of the play-off positions, which represented a positive beginning to the campaign considering the club were only three places outside the relegation zone the previous year.

Although Clarke was once again brutally dismissed, he has since expressed his regret at not taking the position at Craven Cottage and admitted he should have completed due diligence before taking the Reading job in the first place.

In October 2017, Clarke returned to Scottish football for the first time in 30 years after being appointed manager of basement club Kilmarnock.

Clarke provided that new manager bounce at Rugby Park with valuable draws against both Rangers and Celtic, but the best was yet to come.

Following a 3-1 defeat at Aberdeen in November, Killie produced a miraculous run of results which included 13 wins, four draws and only one defeat. For a club that looked destined for relegation at the time of his arrival, a fifth-placed finish was an outstanding achievement.

A full pre-season offered the opportunity for Clarke to further perfect his side’s tactical familiarity with former defender Stuart Findlay revealing that “In training, the number of 0-0s we had was incredible because we were so hard to break down.”

If the previous campaign was not enough, Kilmarnock began the season strongly by winning six of their first nine games including an injury-time winner against Celtic. A 1-1 draw against Hamilton Academical put the club in second place.

One defeat in just 11 games from November to January provided hope that Kille could challenge both the Old Firm clubs to the top spot.

A sticky patch of form in February put an end to any title hopes, but a strong end to the season completed what was surely Clarke’s biggest achievement prior to taking the Scotland job.

Consecutive wins against Hearts, Hibernian and Rangers saw Kille finish in a remarkable third and qualify for European football for the first time in 18 years. By then, Clarke had emerged as the obvious candidate to replace Alex McLeish as national team boss.

Clarke addressed the Rugby Park crowd with an emotional speech which showed a side to him that is not often seen in the public domain.

Taking a Scotland team that had been swept aside by minnows Kazakstan to Euro 2020 speaks volumes of the job that Clarke has done.

It hasn’t been straightforward though with Clarke receiving initial criticism for heavy defeats to Belgium and Russia.

But he has stuck by his trusted methods and maintained the qualities that have served him so well throughout his coaching career.

Face it, Clarke has not failed at any club he has been in charge of.

North of the border, every Scottish supporter was behind Clarke and hoped that they could pull off a famous win against World Cup finalists Croatia.

But qualification failure should not be seen as a reason to change. Clarke must be backed. Qatar is in sight and he will trust his players to get there. This Scotland team has a number of emerging talents who will only benefit from this summer’s experience and playing under Clarke.

He may feel that he still has a lot to offer English football, which is fair. But nothing comes close to managing your country, and Clarke no doubt understands that.

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