Steve Clarke says he will welcome back players who have previously called time on their Scotland careers but they will “have to un-retire themselves” because he won’t be chasing them.

Speaking at his unveiling as Scotland manager, Clarke told the BBC he hopes his vision will persuade the likes of James McArthur, Allan McGregor and Scott Brown to think again about retiring from international duty.

“The door is open to everyone. If players have retired, they have to un-retire themselves,” said the 55-year-old, who has signed a three-year contract with the Scottish FA after leaving Kilmarnock. “If they want to come back to the fold they have to get in touch with myself or the Scottish FA and say they want to make themselves available. I won’t be chasing down players who have retired. I only want players who are 100% committed to Scotland.”

Clarke also wants Scottish fans back on board with the national team and indicated that reaching a major finals for the first time since 1998 would not be enough. “We want to make them proud of their country and their team,” he said. “We want them to come to the matches and get right behind the team like they always do. It’s dwindled a little bit. But it’s my job to ensure the team is focused.”

Clarke, who guided Kilmarnock to a third-placed finish in the Scottish Premiership which secures European football next season, said replacing Alex McLeish as Scotland manager was the highlight of his career in football.

“I am absolutely humbled and honoured to be in charge of the national team. I played for Scotland but to manage Scotland is probably the pinnacle,” he said. “I wouldn’t be without the time I had with Kilmarnock. It was an unbelievable 18 months I had there with great success. But now it’s a new chapter, a new challenge. And anybody who knows me knows that I like a challenge. If I was a lazy person I would still be at Chelsea in the assistant manager’s seat.”

Ian Maxwell, chief executive of the Scottish FA, said: “Through each stage of this process, Steve jumped out as the outstanding candidate. I would like to thank Kilmarnock for the way they have handled this process, it can’t be easy for them to lose a manager who has achieved success in such a short space of time, but we are absolutely delighted to have Steve’s services and look forward to the rest of the qualifying campaign and the future.”