World Cup qualifying: How does Scotland head coach Steve Clarke stack up among predecessors?

A late Oliver Burke winner over Cyprus in Clarke’s first match in charge set the tone for six years of ups, downs and drama.

There was pain before gain, with Belgium and Russia dishing out two defeats each to the sorry Scots over the next four games.

At that point, the nation had not featured at a major tournament in more than two decades.

If you had offered any member of the Tartan Army two Euros appearances over the next six years, you would have been lucky to still have a hand.

A shift of shape to a back three and a nine-match unbeaten run culminated with Scotland defeating Serbia on penalties in a play-off to secure a place at Euro 2020.

The Scots failed to progress from their group in the delayed finals, though, and many questioned if Clarke had hit his ceiling after defeat by Ukraine in the 2022 World Cup play-offs.

But resilience has been in the Scotland boss’ make-up throughout his tenure.

A stunning start to Euro 2024 qualifying, including a landmark win over Spain, ensured Clarke’s men reached the finals with two games to spare.

However, those doubts came flooding back – and louder than ever before – following a deflating summer on the pitch in Germany.

Scotland failed to progress from their group again, but the head coach’s cautious approach attracted most of the intense criticism.

Clarke vowed to fight on in a bid to reach the World Cup next year, and his squad are in good shape after taking four points from their first two qualifiers, with back-to-back home games next up.