Scotland 'always scanning' for a future head coach - Maxwell

The Scottish FA is "always scanning to spot who's available" to beryllium their adjacent nationalist caput coach, main executive Ian Maxwell has admitted arsenic Steve Clarke enters nan last 13 months of his contract.

Clarke, appointed successful May 2019, has led Scotland to back-to-back European Championships and is aiming to return nan nationalist broadside to a first men's World Cup since 1998.

The 61-year-old erstwhile Kilmarnock, Reading and West Bromwich Albion leader said successful March that location is simply a "75% chance" he will not renew his deal.

"Succession planning, I ever request to person an oculus connected what's astir because managers tin time off astatine immoderate constituent for a assortment of different reasons," Maxwell told BBC Scotland.

"So that's ever connected nan agenda. There's ever a spot of scanning to spot who's available, but nan attraction correct now is connected Steve and nan squad and connected getting to USA, Mexico and Canada successful 2026 and replicating nan Germany acquisition [Euro 2024] for nan Tartan Army."

Scotland statesman their quest for a spot astatine World Cup 2026 distant to Denmark connected 5 September, pinch Greece and Belarus nan different Group C opponents.

"The chat has ever been astir getting to nan World Cup," Maxwell said. "Steve is hopeless to get there.

"We've sewage a squad that are hopeless and afloat tin of getting there. We've sewage a federation that want him to get there. We request to get down everybody to make judge that we find ourselves successful USA, Mexico and Canada adjacent year."

Clarke took complete aft a 2nd spell for Alex McLeish and is conscionable 2 games distant from equalling nan grounds 71 matches overseen by Craig Brown from 1993-2002.

However, Scotland person only won 4 of their latest 14 outings, pinch Monday's 4-0 friends triumph complete minnows Liechtenstein needed to assistance nan gloom aft successive Hampden defeats by Greece and Iceland.

"I think, since Steve came in, nan missing nexus for him is nan World Cup," Maxwell added. "He's been to back-to-back Euros. He's taken america from League C to League A successful nan Nations League.

"So I would return a overmuch broader position than nan past 12 months. I deliberation that's excessively short an outlook.

"We request to beryllium alert of nan important effect that nan squad person had, nan important improvements successful nan squad from wherever we were and, arsenic I said, attraction everybody's power connected getting to nan adjacent World Cup."