Scotland 'checked out World Cup coach' before appointing Sebastien Pocognoli

Scotland checked out former Belgium boss Rudi Garcia as a potential candidate to replace Steve Clarke as head coach, according to a member of the Belgian football federation.

Garcia left his position at the Red Devils after guiding them to the quarter-finals of the World Cup. The 62-year-old Frenchman’s contract was not renewed, making him instantly available, and the former Roma and Lyon boss was reportedly under consideration by the Scottish Football Association.

SFA chiefs made contact with counterpart in Belgium to gather intel on Garcia but in the end, they plumped for Sebastien Pocognoli, whose tenure started with two defeats, one draw and one win in the recent Nations League match.

Rudi Garcia managed Belgium during the World Cup. | Getty Images

On Garcia, Royal Belgian Football Association chief executive Vincent Mannaert revealed details of the conversations - and explained his former charge had little interest in coaching Scotland.

Mannaert said: “My last contact with Rudi concerned Scotland‘s request to know what we thought of our collaboration with him.

“I told him about it and we had a brief exchange at that time. The Scots were looking for a new national team coach and their sporting director had contacted us.

“I gave my Scottish colleagues honest feedback and replied that Rudi delivered, in terms of sporting performance, what we had envisioned beforehand.

“But that, based on our analysis, we needed a different profile for the new cycle.”

Garcia remains a free agent after leaving Belgium. He has also managed Lille, Marseille, Napoli and Al Nassr, with the Belgians his only experience of international football.