Scottish FA Set to Name New Head Coach Ahead of Nations League

The clock is ticking on Scotland’s next era.

The Scottish FA is in the final stages of appointing a new head coach to replace Steve Clarke, with the decision expected before the national team returns to action in the Nations League next month.

Clarke walked away in the summer after Scotland’s World Cup group-stage exit, drawing a line under a seven-year spell that dragged the national side back to major tournaments and raised expectations, only for them to crash in Qatar. He had signed a new four-year deal as recently as May, but chose to resign after the disappointment.

Now the search has moved quickly and quietly.

Chief executive Ian Maxwell and Craig Mulholland, the SFA’s recently installed chief football officer, have been leading the process since May. They have cast the net wide, speaking to candidates from across the UK and abroad, and have already conducted interviews.

Those close to the process say the governing body is nearing a decision. The one thing still firmly under wraps: whether the new man in the dugout will be Scottish or from overseas.

What is not in doubt is the urgency.

Scotland’s next competitive chapter starts on 26 September, away to Slovenia, the first of a four-game Nations League block that will help shape the mood around the team after the World Cup comedown. The new head coach will walk straight into meaningful fixtures, with little time to ease in or experiment.

Inside the camp, some continuity may remain. Steven Naismith, who served as Clarke’s assistant, said last month he expects to stay involved with the national team under the incoming boss. His presence would offer a link to the Clarke years, even as the SFA turns the page.

The World Cup exit ended one story. The appointment now being finalised will decide what kind of story comes next.