Steve Clarke putting future on hold in hope to guide Scotland to 2026 World Cup

Steve Clarke is putting his future on hold as he looks to guide Scotland through their quick-fire 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.

The 62-year-old, who became national team boss in 2019, is contracted until next summer and said in March that there was a 75 per cent chance that he would leave his role after the finals in Canada, Mexico and the USA.

Speaking ahead of his side’s opening qualifier against Denmark in Copenhagen on Friday night, which will be followed by Belarus in Hungary on Monday, Clarke said: “I have not thought about myself.

“I am only concentrating on making sure the boys are as well prepared as they can be. Then we will see what happens after the campaign. Two difficult away games. Very tough.

“Obviously coming here – we were here for the last World Cup qualifying (a 2-0 defeat) – we know it is a tough place to come.

“They always play well at home, the Danish team. They are very aggressive and get after you.

“We know we have to defend well but we also know we have to play well, when we have the ball we have to play, we have to try and create chances and hopefully come away with a nice positive result to start the campaign.”

Clarke, was pleased to see his players train at the top level this week in anticipation of the first double-header.

The former Kilmarnock and West Brom boss added: “Well if the training this week is any guide, then they are looking forward to it very much.

“Training has been very sharp. Very focused. We will look forward to it.

“I think our previous couple of qualifying campaigns, we have shown we can come out of the groups stages, whether to the play-off or direct as we did the last time to get to Germany.

“We have shown that we can cope with the pressure of the group stages. That’s what we aim to do this time again.

“My job is to try to give the boys the best possible chance to get there.”

Clarke was pleased to see 19-year-old winger Ben Gannon Doak, who signed for Bournemouth from Liverpool in the summer, back in the squad.

He said: “Immediately he gives you a different dimension because he’s quick, direct and likes to get at the opposition.

“It’s nice to have him back. hopefully he can have a big impact over the next six games.”

Left-back Andy Robertson admitted a positive opening result against Denmark would put Scotland – who will also face Greece in Group C – on the front foot in their qualifying campaign.

He said: “When a campaign starts, there’s always excitement about what lies ahead. This one is no different. We’ve done well in the Euro campaigns.

“Our last World Cup one was good in the group stage but obviously the play-off was a disappointment, but our last three campaigns have been really good – we just take that into this one.

“It’s a competitive group and we know getting off to a good start is crucial. Hopefully we can do that on Friday and it will stand us in good stead.

“There isn’t a lot of margin for error but every team in the group will be saying the same thing.”