IF Steve Clarke can get it right as Scotland manager, he can become a legend in the game here. That is the incentive for him now.

He is the perfect fit for the position and he was the obvious choice because of his record with Kilmarnock. He has got great experience as a coach and a really impressive CV.

I really do think that, with the players we have got, we can qualify for the European Championships and get back to a major finals.

The chance is there for Steve to be the manager that turns around the fortunes of the national side and gives the Tartan Army something to really get behind once again.

If he can get the environment right and get the buy-in from the players, I don’t see why he can’t take us to the next Euros or the next World Cup.

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Scotland have some really good players. Going forward we have the likes of James Forrest, Callum McGregor and Ryan Fraser, then Scott McTominay in the middle of the park and Andrew Robertson and Kieran Tierney at the back.

One of the first conundrums for Steve will be how to get both of them into the team and he will want to establish a way of playing early on.

There are exciting players in the squad, but it is about trying to get them into a formation that gets the best out of them.

Steve is used to working with players day in, day out and now he will find most of his time will be spent going to games and watching players. Then, he will have his few days with the players to really get into them how he wants them to play and get his ideas across.

I think it is quite an exciting time for the national team and it sounds like the right moment for Steve to make the move from Kilmarnock. He has spoken about spending more time with his family, so this is the perfect scenario for him.

He will want to get the players on side from the off and I would hope the guys in the squad and the ones on the fringes of it are excited at the prospect of Steve coming in.

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They should be desperate to play for him. They should be desperate to turn up and do their bit and represent their country and hopefully be the first group of players that qualify for a tournament for a long, long time.

Alex McLeish paid the price for a series of call-offs at crucial times and that comes down to the players’ mentality as well.

There will always be call-offs through injury but it is difficult for a manager when you name a squad and then need to bring a handful of guys into it leading up to the game.

The players should have pride in playing for their country but you might have had some thinking ‘We are going to get a hard time from the Press, we have to travel, we might get beat’. It is easy for players to think ‘I don’t fancy that’. I am not saying that is right, but that is maybe how some of them have thought recently and that has to change.

We have good youngsters coming through the ranks, like Lewis Ferguson, and Scot Gemmill has done a terrific job with the youth squads for a number of years now.

He is putting a base in there so we have players that can push through and hopefully take us to the next level. There are exciting players there so I think it is a time to be optimistic for the national team with Steve in.

He doesn’t have a lot of time between now and the matches with Cyprus and Belgium but I don’t think that will count against him.

That won’t be a problem for someone of Steve’s ability and experience as a manager.