Graeme Souness has said Scotland lacked belief at the World Cup as their bid to escape a group stage for the first time fell short, with Steve Clarke's side unable to build on a narrow win over Haiti.
Scotland returned to football's biggest stage after a 28-year absence, but while they squeezed past Haiti, they did not, in Souness's words, lay a glove on Morocco or Brazil.
"We just weren't good enough," Souness said. "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."
Souness on Clarke's tenure
Souness, who represented Scotland at three World Cups, said he was disappointed but credited Clarke for getting the most out of his squad for most of his time in charge.
"I think the manager, over the vast majority of his tenure, got as much as he could out of that group of players," he said. "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."
Souness added that Clarke "got a tune out of them" and got Scotland qualifying for tournaments, but ultimately came up short against the leading nations. "Where do we go now? I have no idea," he said. "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."
Search for Clarke's successor
The Scottish Football Association is now working to identify a successor to Clarke after he decided to step down following seven years in the role.
Souness, who won 54 caps for Scotland, has often been linked with the manager's job himself but said his time in the dugout had passed. "No, I wouldn't last," he said. "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."
He said he expected plenty of Scottish coaches to want the job, adding that going abroad was not always the answer. "I'm not bothered. I'm not interested in what language he speaks as long as he does the business," he said.
