Sir Kenny Dalglish: Steve Clarke does not have a magic wand but he is the best man for the job

The news of Steve Clarke’s appointment as Scotland manager has been well received by the bulk of the nation.

And rightly so.

I said a couple of months ago that when Alex McLeish was sacked, the SFA wouldn’t have a queue the length of the Hampden car park of quality managers wanting to succeed Big Eck.

It only took one quality person to step in, and they have the right person in Steve.

He has been outstanding in his 20 months at Kilmarnock and won back-to-back Manager of the Year awards.

If the Hampden hierarchy hadn’t offered him the job, they would have left themselves open to ridicule.

Of course, I know Steve well as I had him on my staff at Liverpool.

He is an impressive human being, and also a knowledgeable coach and manager.

I put my trust in him every day and he never let anyone down.

His training was first-class, and there was never a moment when any player was standing around, not knowing what was required.

He also got the balance spot on in terms of the training being drilled and purposeful, as well as enjoyable. It was never regimented, and that’s important.

I enjoyed watching his work, and I know every Liverpool player got something out of his sessions.

It’s clearly been the same at Kilmarnock when you look at the results they have had, and the improvement in players such as Stuart Findlay and Greg Taylor.

Last season, Steve reinvigorated Kris Boyd, and the same goes for Chris Burke in the campaign just finished.

So it’s no wonder the Tartan Army are excited.

However, the job of qualifying for Euro 2020 is still a huge ask.

For all Steve’s talents, he doesn’t possess a magic wand.

The levels of expectation must be within reason. I’m not trying to be pessimistic, just realistic.

If we can all get behind Steve and the players – especially when we have a bad result – then we will gradually move in the right direction.

We live in an age where the whole world wants immediate answers to everything.

Social media and the internet can facilitate all of that.

But football is very different.

Steve has some very good players to work with but they will need a bit of time along with a bit of luck.

In an ideal world, we will finish second in the Euro 2020 qualification group and be on our way to the Finals next summer.

But I think the more realistic aim is to get there through the play-offs.

Alex McLeish got that one over the line, and all the Tartan Army should be thankful for that. It gives us at least a 50-50 chance of being there when it matters, participating in our first major Finals since 1998.

It all starts with a home game against Cyprus on June 8, and I’d love for there to be 50,000 inside Hampden Park.

For any success to be achieved, it will require a monumental effort from the management and players on the park, and the supporters off it.

Let’s all try our very best to do it.

We stand a very good chance, as we have the best person possible at the helm.

Steve has been given a three-year contract to get it right and, like our days together at Anfield, I trust in him this time, too.