The role of a Scotland national football team manager was first established in May 1954, when Andy Beattie was appointed. Beattie took charge of six matches before and during the 1954 FIFA World Cup, when Scotland competed at their first major tournament. Twenty-five men have occupied the post since its inception, with Beattie, Jock Stein and Alex McLeish occupying it in two spells. Six of those managers were in caretaker or interim roles. Craig Brown held the position for the longest to date; a tenure of nine years, comprising two major tournaments and a total of 71 matches, although Steve Clarke managed more games (81) in his seven years in charge.
No manager has progressed beyond the first group stage of a major competition, even though Scotland qualified for several between 1954 and 1998. Beattie (1954), Dawson Walker (1958), Willie Ormond (1974), Ally MacLeod (1978), Stein (1982), Alex Ferguson (1986), Andy Roxburgh (1990 and 1992), Brown (1996 and 1998) and Clarke (2020, 2024 and 2026) have all managed the team at major competitions. Ian McColl, Ormond and MacLeod all won the British Home Championship outright.
German coach Berti Vogts became the first foreign manager of the team in 2002, but his time in charge was generally seen as a failure and the FIFA World Ranking declined to an all-time low of 88 in March 2005. Walter Smith and Alex McLeish achieved better results, with the ranking improving to an all-time high of 13 in October 2007, but both were only briefly in charge before returning to club management. George Burley and Craig Levein both had worse results with the team and were eventually sacked. Results improved somewhat under Gordon Strachan, but he was unable to secure qualification for a tournament. After McLeish had a second spell as manager, Steve Clarke was appointed in May 2019. Clarke guided the team to qualification for Euro 2020, their first major competition since 1998, Euro 2024, and the 2026 World Cup. He resigned after that tournament and was replaced by Sébastien Pocognoli in August 2026.
Position
Role The Scotland manager has sole responsibility for all on-the-field elements of the Scotland team. Among other activities, this includes selecting the national team squad, the starting lineup, captain, tactics, substitutes and penalty-takers. The manager has input in selecting the coaching ("back room") staff. For example, in 2008 manager George Burley helped to recruit Terry Butcher, a former teammate at Ipswich Town, as his assistant. The Scotland manager may also involve himself in wider issues beyond the on-the-field team issues, such as negotiating fixtures. In the period before a manager was appointed, the team was picked by the international selection committee of the Scottish Football Association (SFA). This committee was made up of officials from Scottish clubs, who had responsibility for picking their own sides. There were large inconsistencies in selection, however, and players were often picked without some or all of the selectors having watched them play.
Appointment The process of appointing a new Scotland manager is undertaken by the main SFA board. After a review was conducted by former First Minister of Scotland Henry McLeish, the SFA board structure was streamlined considerably in 2011. Professional game and non-professional game boards govern their respective areas of football, while the main board has a strategic focus. There are seven members on the main board, consisting of three SFA office bearers, representatives from the professional and non-professional boards, and two independent members. As of September 2023, these positions were occupied by Mike Mulraney (SFA president), Ian Maxwell (SFA chief executive), Les Gray (SFA vice-president), Andrew McKinlay (Professional Game Board chair), Aileen Campbell (Non-Professional Game Board chair) and independent members Ana Stewart and Malcolm Kpedekpo.
All but one of the 24 people to manage Scotland had played the game professionally. The exception is Dawson Walker, who was placed in interim charge of the team while Matt Busby was recovering from injuries suffered in the Munich air disaster. Of the 23 Scotsmen to hold the post of manager, nine were never capped for the senior Scotland team as a player (Walker, Stein, Prentice, MacDonald, MacLeod, Roxburgh, C. Brown, Smith and Stark), although some of them did represent the Scottish Football League (Stein, Prentice and MacDonald). Of the 14 that played for Scotland, two earned 50 caps or more (McLeish and Strachan), while four also served as Scotland captains (Docherty, McLeish, Levein and Strachan). Berti Vogts, the only foreign manager to hold the post, earned 96 caps for West Germany and was part of their 1974 World Cup winning side.
History 1950s: Selection committee and temporary managers
Until 1954, the Scotland team was managed by a SFA selection committee. The role of manager was first established in May 1954 with the appointment of Andy Beattie, who took charge on a part-time basis while continuing as manager of Huddersfield Town. Beattie took the team to the 1954 FIFA World Cup, but the SFA only allowed him to select a travelling party of 13 players. Beattie, who felt this restriction made it impossible for him to perform his duties well, resigned during the tournament. Scotland were eliminated from the tournament after a 7–0 defeat by Uruguay.
After the 1954 World Cup, the selection committee resumed their duties, continuing until the appointment of Matt Busby in 1958. Busby was initially unable to assume his duties due to the serious injuries he sustained in the Munich air disaster, with Dawson Walker taking charge of the team while Busby recovered. Busby only took charge of two Scotland matches, but he did give a young Denis Law his first Scotland cap. In March 1959, Andy Beattie became Scotland manager for a second time. During his second spell as Scotland manager, Beattie combined those duties with managing a football club. He resigned in November 1960 in order to manage English club Nottingham Forest on a full-time basis.
1960s Ian McColl, who had just retired from a long playing career with Rangers, was appointed Scotland manager in 1960. He enjoyed significant success, winning British Home Championships in 1962 and 1963 and had an impressive winning percentage. McColl left the team in 1965 to become manager of Sunderland.
Celtic manager Jock Stein was then appointed manager of Scotland on a part-time basis. Stein took charge of their attempt to qualify for the 1966 World Cup. Scotland achieved good results in their first two qualifiers, a draw against Poland and a win against Finland. Stein was criticised by the Scottish press after the team conceded two late goals and lost 2–1 at home to Poland, but they managed to beat Italy 1–0 at Hampden Park to raise some hope of qualification. Scotland suffered from several players withdrawing from the return match against Italy due to injury and a 3–0 defeat meant that they failed to qualify. Clyde manager John Prentice then took the job on a full-time basis in 1966, but left to manage Dundee after just six months and four games in charge.
After Malky MacDonald took charge of two games on a caretaker basis, Bobby Brown was appointed manager. Brown was the first Scotland manager to be given full control of the team, as until then the SFA selection committee had continued to choose the players. Scotland achieved one of their most famous victories in his first game in charge, a 3–2 win against 1966 World Cup winners England at Wembley. The team generally performed well under Brown, but were drawn with West Germany in 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification. Scotland needed to avoid defeat in Hamburg to keep their qualification hopes alive, but lost 3–2.
1970s Tommy Docherty was appointed manager in 1971 and had a brief, but successful, time in charge. Docherty lost only three of his 12 matches as manager, but he left the job in late 1972 to become manager of Manchester United. Despite losing 5–0 to England in his first match in charge, Scotland qualified for the 1974 World Cup under the management of Willie Ormond. Scotland performed creditably at the finals, winning against Zaire and drawing against Brazil and Yugoslavia, but were eliminated on goal difference. Ormond suffered from player indiscipline during his tenure, which included an infamous incident where Jimmy Johnstone, after a night out drinking, sat in a rowing boat that was drifting out to sea. Two teammates attempted to rescue Johnstone, but eventually he had to be retrieved by local fishermen. Ormond left the Scotland job in 1977 to become manager of Hearts.
Ally MacLeod had an immediate impact as Scotland manager, winning against England at Wembley. His team then qualified for the 1978 FIFA World Cup by defeating Wales at Anfield, although Scotland were controversially given a penalty kick. MacLeod was confident about the team's prospects, quipping that his plan for after the World Cup was to "retain it". The supporters shared in this enthusiasm, as Hampden Park was packed for a farewell parade before the team flew to the tournament, hosted by Argentina. MacLeod dismissed his first two opponents, Peru and Iran, as "old men" and "minnows" respectively. A defeat by Peru and a draw with Iran left Scotland needing to defeat the Netherlands by three clear goals to qualify. MacLeod made a number of contested selection decisions, preferring the out of form Don Masson and Bruce Rioch to Graeme Souness. Winger Willie Johnston failed a drugs test after the Peru match and was sent home. Scotland produced an outstanding performance against the Netherlands and won 3–2, but were eliminated on goal difference. MacLeod stayed on as Scotland manager after the World Cup, but resigned after a defeat by Austria in September 1978. Writers have since considered the question of whether MacLeod was the cause of a lack of Scottish self-confidence, or was someone who tried to counter it.
1978–1986: Stein and Ferguson
Jock Stein, who was working as manager of Leeds United, was recruited by the SFA to manage the Scotland team for a second time. Two defeats to Belgium meant that Scotland failed to qualify for the 1980 European Championship. This was followed by losses to Northern Ireland and England in the 1980 British Home Championship, which led to some criticism in the media. Scotland qualified for the 1982 World Cup in Spain, but exited on goal difference after they drew 2–2 with the Soviet Union in a must-win game. Scotland then failed to qualify for the 1984 European Championship, which led to criticism of Stein leading into the next competition, the 1986 World Cup. As a consequence, Stein was facing significant pressure to ensure qualification for the tournament in Mexico.
Scotland defeated Spain 3–1, but then lost 1–0 at home to Wales. This left Scotland needing to secure at least a point from their final group match, against Wales in Cardiff, to qualify for a play-off against Australia. Stein was not helped by the fact that a number of his senior players, including Graeme Souness (his captain), Kenny Dalglish, Alan Hansen and Steve Archibald would all miss the game through injury or suspension. Stein had been taking diuretics, to reduce pressure on his heart, since the home defeat by Wales. Despite his enthusiasm for the job, these strains had let to Stein indicating that he would step down after the World Cup Finals in Mexico. Scotland drew 1–1 thanks to a late penalty kick by Davie Cooper, but Stein suffered a fatal heart attack. Assistant manager Alex Ferguson took temporary charge of the team until the 1986 World Cup, from which Scotland were eliminated in the group stage.
1986–2001: Roxburgh and Brown