McArdle was handed something of an unenviable task, having to pick up a Scotland side who had been battered and bruised and put through a painful – but necessary – post-mortem after failing to qualify for Euro 2025.
But, instead of inheriting a squad full of scars, he opted to be brave and bold, calling up youngsters he’d worked with across various youth levels.
A forward-thinking, yet eyebrow-raising decision, which threatened to be thrown back in his face following Friday’s flat 1-0 defeat in Austria.
The 45-year-old insisted “blind steps” had been taken, and there were plenty of positives – not least three debuts being made at Josko Arena.
He doubled down against the Dutch, dropping Bayern Munich’s Sam Kerr, Rangers’ Chelsea Cornet, Angel City’s Claire Emslie and Tottenham Hotspur’s Martha Thomas from the starting XI.
For 55 minutes or so at Hampden, it was something of a masterstroke. Yes, the Scots were penned in by their superior visitors, but they led through Emma Lawton’s fierce strike on her second international start.
Even when Andries Jonkers side deservedly turned the game on its head, there was far from an implosion.
Celtic full-back Lawton, a worthy player of the match, continued to press and probe an uber-talented Dutch team, while Eilidh Adams – leading the line from the off for the first time – was a handful.
In the time between both games, McArdle stressed the importance of his experience players to stand up and be counted. And while there was a marked improvement, it was his inexperienced heads who impressed again.
Perhaps it’s down to their “lack of burden from previous experiences” as the head-coach said pre-Netherlands, or their eagerness to “take risks”, as he cited post-match.
A key quality that, due to the lack of it, contributed to Scotland’s failure in Finland. For too long, it’s been all too safe.
With a severe lack of experience at this level, appointing McArdle could be viewed as a gamble, but he’s showed his hand.
Now it’s down to the powers-that-be to play theirs.
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