Scotland deserves better, Steve Clarke must leave his post as Scotland manager, his time is up…

The solitary Celt

Anthony Ralston was the solitary Celt involved in last night’s defeat in Zagreb as Scotland extended their dismal form with another loss. Andrej Kramaric’s winner now makes it one win in 15 for the ex-Kilmarnock boss where surely the writing is now on the wall for him.

It has now been 401 days since Scotland’s last competitive win which was a 3-0 victory at Nicosia in September last year.

The Tartan Army

Worryingly, Tartan Army followers do not know where the next win will come from. With Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal looming on Tuesday night, it is entirely plausible Scotland will be on zero points after four Nations League fixtures.

Mea Culpa was not the mantra for the Scotland manager post the horrendous European championships where Scotland registered only three shots on target in the entire tournament. Little acknowledgment of his dire, medieval tactics that led to Scotland being the worst side to have participated in the summer’s competition.

Apathy is the word

Apathy is the word that surrounds this national team squad. Depletion of injuries is not helping Clarke. However, it cannot be used as an excuse considering he has had majority of his senior players at his disposal for the last year.

Trajectory points downwards for Scotland

16 European national teams will be present in North America for the 2026 World Cup. Sadly, the chances of Scotland and therefore any Scottish Celts competing at the tournament is very slim.

The trajectory points downwards for Scotland under this manager. Peaking in his early days in the dugout, he deserves immense praise for becoming the first Scottish manager in 23 years to reach an international tournament. Then doing it in style thereafter following an unprecedented EURO 2024 qualification campaign.

But, reaching European championships is not the done thing anymore. For a start, they are now easier to get to following a revamped Nations League format. Like Georgia, Slovakia and Slovenia showed, it is about being competitive and making a dent against the elite when you do make these tournaments.

They went out with a whimper

Sadly for Steve Clarke and his side, they went out with a whimper. With that meant the relationship becoming fundamentally broken. It is now unrecoverable.

For the betterment of the nation’s sanity, the SFA should reevaluate the god-like vision they see in Clarke, and replace him with a more competent international manager.

Conor Spence