OFFICIAL: Scottish coach Clarke to stay on until 2026

2023-03-25 15:43

OFFICIAL: Scottish coach Clarke to stay on until 2026


On Friday, the Scottish Football Association announced the extension of the contract of 56-year-old coach Steve Clarke.


It has been officially confirmed that Clark's tenure will end after the 2026 World Cup. His priority, though, is securing Scotland 's qualification for Euro 2024.


"We have to keep the fans and the country engaged and happy from start to finish. To do this, we will aim to win games and qualify for more big events. Starting next year in Germany," Clark himself said.


"The priority is to make sure our opener against Cyprus is off to a positive start. They happen to be my first opponents in charge in 2019."


"I am proud that I and the coaching staff will continue to lead the team through the next two European preliminaries," he concluded.


Steve Clark was born in Salt Coates on August 29, 1963. He only played for St. Mirren FC St. Mirren and Chelsea in his player era. After hanging up his boots at the age of 35, Clark first followed his former Chelsea coach Gullit to join Newcastle United, and returned to Stamford Bridge two years later to serve as the youth training manager and assistant coach. He later also accepted the invitation of former Chelsea teammate Zola and Scottish colleague Kenny Dalglish, and has served as assistant coach of West Ham United and Liverpool since 2008.


In June 2012, Clark was appointed by West Brom as the first-team coach for the first time. Seven years later, on May 20, he was hired as Scotland manager until 2022. Over the past three years, Scotland led by Clark has recorded a total of 21 wins, 8 draws and 12 losses, during which they qualified for the 2020 European Cup.


In this European Cup qualifier, Scotland is in Group A with Cyprus, Georgia, Norway and Spain. According to the schedule, they will play against Cyprus on the 25th and Spain on the 28th.