Is Steve Clarke Now the Best Scotland Manager?
By Fauzan Saari via Unsplash
By Molly Adam
After a dramatic win over Denmark at Hampden, Steve Clarke’s men made it to the World Cup after 28 years. The squad and Clarke have been heavily praised since the win. Does this make Clarke the best Scotland manager ever?
When Scotland reached the 1998 World Cup in France, Craig Brown led the nation. Brown was arguably the best Scotland manager, but has this since changed?
Craig Brown took over the Scotland squad in 1993 and stayed in his position until 2001. Having ascended through the ranks of the Scotland managerial pyramid before becoming the official manager. He had overseen the under-16s and under-21 squads. To which he led them both to the UEFA Championships, respectively.
During his time as the under-21 manager, he took the position of assistant manager to Sir Alex Ferguson during the 1986 World Cup campaign. He then assisted Andy Roxburgh during his spell as manager. Brown then became the interim manager and was appointed the official manager two months later.
Brown led Scotland to Euro 1996 in England after coming second in Group 8. Scotland were then drawn in a group with hosts England, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Scotland did not make it any further than the group stage.
Two years later, he led Scotland to the 1998 World Cup in France. Scotland were drawn in a group, with the current holders at the time, Brazil, Norway and Morocco. Scotland failed to progress any further again.
Scotland then failed to reach the Euro 2000 and the World Cup in 2002. Brown then resigned in October 2001.
Brown had a win percentage of 45.1 across 71 games in charge of Scotland. He had 32 wins for the country.
Steve Clarke was appointed in 2019 and has since qualified for 3 competitions in his 6 years as manager. Clarke was a fan favourite when he was appointed after a successful stint at Kilmarnock.
Clarke had coaching experience at many different clubs before becoming a manager himself. He had coaching positions at Newcastle United, West Ham United, Chelsea and Aston Villa before coming back to Scotland to lead Kilmarnock to European football in his first season.
On his debut, Clarke saw out a 2-1 win over Cyprus in the qualifying stages of Euro 2020. Scotland then lost to Belgium and Russia. This left Scotland in a play-off game against Serbia to qualify. They drew the game 1-1 but won 4-5 on penalties and qualified. However, Scotland lost to the Czech Republic and Croatia at Hampden and drew with England, which left them bottom of Group D.
Scotland then made it to the 2022 World Cup play-offs after finishing second in their group. They were drawn against Ukraine and lost 3-1, knocking them out of the competition. In the same year, they were promoted to League A of the Nations League.
Scotland then qualified for Euro 2024 with two matches still to be played after wins against Spain, Cyprus, Norway and Georgia. However, when they made it to the competition, the Scots never made it out of the group stage. Defeats from Germany and Hungary and a draw to Switzerland saw Steve Clarke’s men finish bottom of Group A.
Clarke has now led Scotland to their first World Cup since Craig Brown took his men to France in 1998. A dramatic 4-2 victory over Denmark with two late goals saw the Tartan Army top Group C and automatically qualify for the 2026 World Cup in North America.
Clarke has been very successful during his time as Scotland manager. His win rate currently sits at approximately 40%. He has given the nation many memorable nights with wins that have seen Scotland progress to important competitions. He has also revived faith in the nation after a long run of Scotland squads achieving nothing. Clarke now has a World Cup to look forward to, something not a lot of Scotland managers have said themselves.
In comparison with Brown, they have both achieved great things for their country. It is fair to say either man is the best after taking their country to the grandest stage of them all.