Why the new Scotland head coach has a tricky task
· Yahoo Sports
When the Scottish FA's new chief football officer Craig Mulholland starts his job this week, he faces a considerable challenge.
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Replacing Steve Clarke was not on anyone at the SFA's agenda a week ago, having signed him up for another four years before the World Cup.
His shock resignation leaves a massive hole, and there are other issues as the men's national team considers its future at the end of the successful Clarke era.
The core of this squad who qualified for three major tournaments are hitting their 30s, while young Scottish players are struggling for game time.
So what is a new head coach walking into? And how big will Scotland's transition be?
Core group 'not finished'
Clarke was emphatic in his exit interview with the SFA that the core he developed over his seven-year spell are "not finished yet".
With Euro 2028 only two years away and a favourable route through qualifying due to host status, this squad can surely go again to a fourth major finals - particularly given the expertise they have gained in qualifying campaigns.
However, Scotland were one of the oldest squads at the 2026 World Cup and assembled the most experienced group in their history to try to get into the knockout stage.
Of the team that started the defeat by Brazil, six were at least 30. Of the five that weren't, two were 29.
Premier League players Andy Robertson, John McGinn and Ryan Christie are all past 30, while Scott McTominay is 29. They might well have a lot more to give, but the next head coach's remit will also be to bridge the transition to the next generation.
"Going into this tournament I think we had just about a thousand caps in the squad, which is good experience at international level," Clarke said.
"We need to make sure the next generation learn from this core group and they can carry us into the future tournaments. That's my hope and wish.
"There are a number of younger players in the squad now who will become the next core group. They should learn from the senior players that I've been lucky enough to work with."
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Problem positions set up challenge
How, though, does a new head coach manage that amid the demand for results?
There needs to be plenty of young players to choose from in positions across the pitch with the requisite ability and experience.
While Lewis Ferguson, Billy Gilmour, Tyler Fletcher and Lennon Miller give Scotland hope they can continue with a strong midfield in the coming years, other positions have glaring issues.
At goalkeeper, Angus Gunn, Craig Gordon and Liam Kelly were picked in the World Cup squad despite playing very little first-team football last season.
If senior goalkeepers are struggling for game time, where are the next slate of Scottish shot-stoppers coming from?
At centre-back there is a similar problem, while Ben Gannon-Doak has carried the burden of adding pace to Scotland's attack for two years until the breakthrough of Findlay Curtis this season.
Middlesbrough's Tommy Conway and Verona's Kieron Bowie, both 23, are up-and-coming strikers who have had experience with Scotland already. But below that there are very few young Scottish forwards playing regular first-team football.
Indeed there are not too many Scots of any position aged between 22 and 26 playing regularly at a high level with lots of first-team experience, meaning there is a big gap to be bridged between those at the start of their careers and the experienced core who have won trophies and prospered at the highest level.
"It's integrating them at the right time," former Scotland striker Darren Jackson told BBC Scotland's Sportsound.
"It's where the experienced ones play a massive part.
"I don't think we should worry to a massive extent because it happens at every level and with every country. It's just how many are ready."
Does Scottish football need cultural change?
When Scotland exited the World Cup it was the third frustrating group-stage exit in a row under Clarke. A common theme in those has been a shortage of attacking threat.
Lots of people have diagnosed the problem as a lack of speed and athleticism across the pitch limiting Scotland's counter-attacking ability compared to other nations of a similar size.
A lack of the same in defence restricts a coach who might want to press more aggressively. It left Clarke with a dilemma about how exactly to play on the biggest stages.
Former winger Pat Nevin has covered plenty of games at the World Cup for the BBC and believes Scotland have "weaknesses" in developing enough players with the required physical ability to compete at major tournaments.
"We need to develop a group of young players coming through that are athletic," Nevin told the Scottish Football Podcast.
"The pace some of these players are going at, it does leave us a bit in the shade.
"I'm not just talking about France and watching them. I'm talking about the Colombians, the Mexicans and a lot of other teams.
"We look a wee bit sluggish and not quite as athletic as them. That's something that somehow over a period of time we need to work on."
But how? The SFA released a report in 2024 saying clubs were failing young players by not giving them enough first-team minutes early enough.
The introduction of co-operation agreements last season has opened up more opportunities for players to get game time in the lower leagues in Scotland at an earlier age.
But Nevin believes far bigger changes are required.
"Steve Clarke knew we didn't have that [athleticism] to the same level right throughout our group. That's a hard thing to change. That's cultural, it's a lot bigger than football," he said.
"We're a small country, everybody needs to be working together. That means clubs, all the organisations within. We can't be small minded.
"We need young Scottish players getting an opportunity early."
Mulholland's background is in player development, having led Rangers' academy and held a similar role at Nottingham Forest, so he will be conscious of these issues.
How Scottish football moves forward from here will be fascinating.