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Glasgow Times
12-06-2025
- Sport
- Glasgow Times
SFA stance on Clarke's future revealed as chief makes pyro claim
Clarke came in for renewed criticism from supporters after a 3-1 defeat to Iceland in a Hampden friendly last week. While the national team steadied the ship with a 4-0 win over minnows Liechtenstein, a record of five wins in 22 games have increased the level of scrutiny on the manager ahead of the first World Cup qualifier against Denmark in September. Read more: While Clarke himself has said that there is a 75% chance of him leaving his job after the next World Cup cycle, SFA Chief Executive Ian Maxwell claims the matter has yet to come up for discussion. "There has been no conversation, Steve wants to get us to the World Cup, and we're all just focusing on that. "It's my job to have an eye on who's out there at all times, because managers leave for a variety of different reasons at a variety of different times, sometimes when you least expect it. "So if I'm doing my job properly, there's always half an eye on who's available and we'll have that conversation with Steve as and when the time comes. But the focus has to be, we want to get to the World Cup, what do we need to do to make sure that we give everybody the best chance of doing that?" Clarke has said that qualification for the World Cup Finals in Mexico, Canada and America could persuade him to stay on beyond his current contract, due to expire next summer. Reluctant to speculate on the likelihood of a renewal, Maxwell offered his support for the current manager in the face of signs of a growing weariness with his tenure amongst supporters. "I saw something about five wins in 22 or whatever it was, but you think back to the start of the Euro qualifying campaign, we won four or five in a row, and we've qualified as one of the first teams to do so, so there's nuance to it all. "People can look at numbers, people can look at stats, and you can make them whatever you want them to make, but as I said, we need to have a broader view. "When you look back since 2019 we've gone League C, League B, League A, back-to-back Euros, it was a penalty kick that we should have got away from being the first manager to get us out of a group at the Euros. "If you'd have told everybody in 2019 that would have been the case, it would have been where do we sign? "It happens, and there's bits in between that aren't brilliant, by everybody's admission, and we're not shying away from that. You have to be broad-minded." Clubs were also told, meanwhile, of new measures to crack down on fan pyrotechnics and unruly behaviour during domestic cup games. "Everybody has to do more," added Maxwell. "We've got a Government Roundtable next week. "We're working as closely as we've ever been with the SPFL. The relationship's really good, and it's important that when we are dealing with things. "We just need to do as much as we can because there's been a lot of high-profile instances, particularly towards the end of last season, that were unacceptable."
The Herald Scotland
12-06-2025
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
SFA stance on Clarke's future revealed as chief makes pyro claim
While the national team steadied the ship with a 4-0 win over minnows Liechtenstein, a record of five wins in 22 games have increased the level of scrutiny on the manager ahead of the first World Cup qualifier against Denmark in September. Read more: While Clarke himself has said that there is a 75% chance of him leaving his job after the next World Cup cycle, SFA Chief Executive Ian Maxwell claims the matter has yet to come up for discussion. "There has been no conversation, Steve wants to get us to the World Cup, and we're all just focusing on that. "It's my job to have an eye on who's out there at all times, because managers leave for a variety of different reasons at a variety of different times, sometimes when you least expect it. "So if I'm doing my job properly, there's always half an eye on who's available and we'll have that conversation with Steve as and when the time comes. But the focus has to be, we want to get to the World Cup, what do we need to do to make sure that we give everybody the best chance of doing that?" Clarke has said that qualification for the World Cup Finals in Mexico, Canada and America could persuade him to stay on beyond his current contract, due to expire next summer. Reluctant to speculate on the likelihood of a renewal, Maxwell offered his support for the current manager in the face of signs of a growing weariness with his tenure amongst supporters. "I saw something about five wins in 22 or whatever it was, but you think back to the start of the Euro qualifying campaign, we won four or five in a row, and we've qualified as one of the first teams to do so, so there's nuance to it all. "People can look at numbers, people can look at stats, and you can make them whatever you want them to make, but as I said, we need to have a broader view. "When you look back since 2019 we've gone League C, League B, League A, back-to-back Euros, it was a penalty kick that we should have got away from being the first manager to get us out of a group at the Euros. "If you'd have told everybody in 2019 that would have been the case, it would have been where do we sign? "It happens, and there's bits in between that aren't brilliant, by everybody's admission, and we're not shying away from that. You have to be broad-minded." Clubs were also told, meanwhile, of new measures to crack down on fan pyrotechnics and unruly behaviour during domestic cup games. "Everybody has to do more," added Maxwell. "We've got a Government Roundtable next week. "We're working as closely as we've ever been with the SPFL. The relationship's really good, and it's important that when we are dealing with things. "We just need to do as much as we can because there's been a lot of high-profile instances, particularly towards the end of last season, that were unacceptable."
The National
12-06-2025
- Sport
- The National
SFA stance on Clarke's future revealed as chief makes pyro claim
Clarke came in for renewed criticism from supporters after a 3-1 defeat to Iceland in a Hampden friendly last week. While the national team steadied the ship with a 4-0 win over minnows Liechtenstein, a record of five wins in 22 games have increased the level of scrutiny on the manager ahead of the first World Cup qualifier against Denmark in September. Read more: While Clarke himself has said that there is a 75% chance of him leaving his job after the next World Cup cycle, SFA Chief Executive Ian Maxwell claims the matter has yet to come up for discussion. "There has been no conversation, Steve wants to get us to the World Cup, and we're all just focusing on that. "It's my job to have an eye on who's out there at all times, because managers leave for a variety of different reasons at a variety of different times, sometimes when you least expect it. "So if I'm doing my job properly, there's always half an eye on who's available and we'll have that conversation with Steve as and when the time comes. But the focus has to be, we want to get to the World Cup, what do we need to do to make sure that we give everybody the best chance of doing that?" Clarke has said that qualification for the World Cup Finals in Mexico, Canada and America could persuade him to stay on beyond his current contract, due to expire next summer. Reluctant to speculate on the likelihood of a renewal, Maxwell offered his support for the current manager in the face of signs of a growing weariness with his tenure amongst supporters. "I saw something about five wins in 22 or whatever it was, but you think back to the start of the Euro qualifying campaign, we won four or five in a row, and we've qualified as one of the first teams to do so, so there's nuance to it all. "People can look at numbers, people can look at stats, and you can make them whatever you want them to make, but as I said, we need to have a broader view. "When you look back since 2019 we've gone League C, League B, League A, back-to-back Euros, it was a penalty kick that we should have got away from being the first manager to get us out of a group at the Euros. "If you'd have told everybody in 2019 that would have been the case, it would have been where do we sign? "It happens, and there's bits in between that aren't brilliant, by everybody's admission, and we're not shying away from that. You have to be broad-minded." Clubs were also told, meanwhile, of new measures to crack down on fan pyrotechnics and unruly behaviour during domestic cup games. "Everybody has to do more," added Maxwell. "We've got a Government Roundtable next week. "We're working as closely as we've ever been with the SPFL. The relationship's really good, and it's important that when we are dealing with things. "We just need to do as much as we can because there's been a lot of high-profile instances, particularly towards the end of last season, that were unacceptable."
Daily Record
12-06-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
Steve Clarke gets the SFA message on what he needs to do before Hampden beaks discuss a new deal
The national boss has the full backing of Hampden chiefs despite a difficult run of results of late Ian Maxwell insists Steve Clarke's contract talks are on hold until after Scotland's crack at the World Cup. The national boss has admitted he's 75 percent certain he'll walk away after the shot at next summer's big show in North America. But Clarke has also come under fire from some sections of the Tartan Army after crashing at last year's Euros amid an uninspiring run of just five wins in the last 22 clashes. There was also severe flak on the back of the Hampden friendly defeat to Iceland but SFA chief exec Maxwell insisted the association are still firmly behind the boss. There are still hopes Clarke could be persuaded to stay on beyond 2026 but talks are on hold until after the qualifiers. Maxwell said: 'There has been no conversation. He wants to get us to the World Cup, and we're all just focusing on that. 'It's my job to have an eye on who's out there at all times, because managers leave for a variety of different reasons at a variety of different times, sometimes when you least expect it. 'So if I'm doing my job properly, there's always half an eye on who's available, and we'll have that conversation with Steve as and when the time comes. 'But the focus has to be, we want to get to the World Cup, what do we need to do to make sure that we give everybody the best chance of doing that?' 'I think the footballing world we live in is that something happened yesterday, so let's deal with it. 'We've seen three managers be appointed in Scottish football in the last two or three weeks, and none of the three of them have been met with great happiness from the relevant support. 'For whatever reason people are always looking at the negatives, and I've said this for as long as I've been doing this job, we need to take a much broader view. 'We just see where we go, we'll have that conversation when the time is right, and who knows when that time will be right, but the focus has to be on getting to the USA, Mexico and Canada.' Maxwell shot down suggestions Scotland have gone stale in the last 12 months – and pointed to the gruelling run of fixtures that have skewed the win record. He said: 'People can look at numbers, people can look at stats, there's a lot more nuance to statistics, and how we've been doing, rather than just looking at it colder. 'We've gone League C, League B, League A, back-to-back Euros, it was a penalty kick that we should have got away from being the first manager to get us out of a group at the Euros. "If you'd have told everybody in 2019, it would have been, where do we sign? 'It happens, and there's bits in between that aren't brilliant, by everybody's admission, and we're not shying away from that, and then it becomes a disaster.' Maxwell was speaking after the SFA annual general meeting, where Hampden chiefs announced record £79m turnover on the back of reaching Euro 2024 with a ramping of plans to provide more facilities to youngsters. He said: 'I think the association's in a really good place. We're delighted with 2024 and how it went. 'Any sporting organisation, any football club, any football association, a lot of the revenue that's driven comes from success on the pitch. That also manifests in people wanting to play, people wanting to engage with football.' The SFA have also revealed more powers to punish anti-social behaviour in the stands – with concerns over fan misconduct and pyros. Maxwell said: The whole ultra-movement, I've not got a problem with it. 'It's when it becomes unsafe that you have to do something about it. 'We just need to do as much as we can because there's been a lot of high-profile instances, particularly towards the end of last season, that were unacceptable. 'Players are coming to their place of work. That needs to be fundamentally safe and it needs to be fundamentally safe for spectators as well.'
Belfast Telegraph
03-06-2025
- General
- Belfast Telegraph
Northern Ireland lead Bosnia in decisive Nations League clash
Live | The equation for Tanya Oxtoby's side is simple. If they win or draw with Bosnia in Zenica they will finish second in the group and qualify for the Promotion Play-Off for a place in League A. If they lose, they will finish third and drop into the Relegation Play-Off where they must fight to avoid the drop into League C.
