'I mean it': Steve Clarke is assertive on burning Scotland issue and wants player questions to end

The Scotland manager’s current deal is set to expire after the World Cup. After suggesting at a squad announcement event that he preferred the matter to be sorted before heading to the United States in May, he seemed to shift his position slightly when he was inevitably questioned about the apparent stasis once more on Friday. He claimed he was “easy either way”.

Steven Naismith, his assistant, is among those who have called for speculation to end in the form of a new contract by the time of the World Cup.

Clarke stressed that the current international camp, when Scotland face Japan at Hampden this weekend before travelling for another friendly against Ivory Coast in Liverpool on Tuesday, has been about getting things prepared for the summer rather than his own future. He rated his chances of staying with Scotland at 50-50 earlier this month. He also stated he was happy to talk to any interested clubs in the meantime.

When asked again if he wanted everything sorted regarding his future before Scotland’s opening group match of the World Cup against Haiti, Clarke said: “I'm easy either way. I'm very comfortable as I sit here right now.” He stressed that all the main players at the SFA, including chief executive Ian Maxwell and president Mike Mulraney, have been preoccupied with pre-World Cup logistics.

“It's not really the time,” he added. “I think the biggest line that you guys probably didn't notice when I said that (about my future) was, we've all been really busy. And when I say we've been really busy, I mean it. Both myself, Ian, Mike on the board, everybody's been really busy. So, at the moment there's no change. You've really got to stop asking all the players about it as well because they're not really going to sit there and say, I hope he goes!”

Not at this juncture, certainly. All 26 players in Clarke’s latest squad will hope to catch his eye against Japan and Ivory Coast. The managers have agreed to permit 11 substitutes in the first fixture. Clarke warned fans that there might be some strange personnel choices.

“Obviously we've got quite a number of players who are maybe coming back from a longer-term injury or who are carrying little niggles at this stage of the season,” he said. “So some of the selections might raise an eyebrow a little bit. But my job is to make sure that the players come out of these fit well and ready for the end of the season at their clubs and obviously to be ready for the summer.”