Graeme Souness felt Scotland lacked belief as their hopes of emerging from a group for the first time fizzled out at the World Cup.
On their return to the biggest stage in the game after 28 years, Steve Clarke’s players squeezed past Haiti but didn’t lay a glove on Morocco and Brazil.
And Souness, who made three World Cup squads, felt the star men didn’t do themselves justice with their performances as another epic adventure ended in disappointment.
‘We just weren’t good enough,’ he stated. ‘I never saw any Scottish player walk onto the pitch and go, “You know what? This is my stage. I’m going to be the best player here today”. I never saw that kind of real belief.
‘So, I was disappointed, but I think the manager, over the vast majority of his tenure, got as much as he could out of that group of players.
‘When you are a national team manager you are totally reliant on what the nation produces at that time. And I don’t think we’ve produced the most talented group in recent history.
Steve Clarke applauds the fans with Nathan Patterson and Lewis Ferguson after World Cup exit
‘He got a tune out of them and got them qualifying for competitions but, ultimately, he came up short which is always the way when you come up against the big guys.
‘Where do we go now? I have no f****** idea! But hopefully we produce better players and we get someone who knows what they are doing. It’s a very difficult job given what we’ve got right now.’
The Scottish Football Association are now trying to identify the man to succeed Clarke following his decision to step down after seven years.
Souness, who won 54 caps, has often been linked with the post but feels his time in the dug-out has now come and gone.
‘No, I wouldn’t last,’ he smiled. ‘I accept that I’m from a different generation and I think it’s never been more difficult for the guys today doing it. I wouldn’t last five minutes in a dressing room.
‘I’m sure there will be a lot of Scottish coaches who would want the job. It’s not always the case of going foreign to get something better. But I’m not bothered. I’m not interested in what language he speaks as long as he does the business.’
