Head coach Steve Clarke hailed the ‘fantastic connection’ between fans and players after steering Scotland to top spot in UEFA Nations League Group B1.
The rejuvenated Scots secured top billing with a 0-0 draw against Ukraine, landing promotion to the elite level of the next Nations League, a place among the second seeds for the Euro 2024 qualifiers, and a guaranteed play-off spot to qualify for that tournament should they need it.
Clarke admitted Scotland had pressed the “reset button” after the summer’s disappointment, when they lost to Ukraine in the World Cup play-offs and went down 3-0 in Dublin.
They responded by taking seven points from three games against Ukraine and the Republic of Ireland inside a week.
Clarke said: “I sat down with all my staff and said ‘we have to set a different environment, we have to be more demanding of the players, we have to push that agenda’.
“Then I sat with the players and we went through what we did well in the summer, what we didn’t do so well.
“We gave them a lot of information to change the system, to play a slightly different way.
“These players are desperate to play for their country, they have taken it on board and had a really good week.”
Clarke, who pointed out his contract expires before Scotland’s next Nations League campaign, added: “Sometimes it doesn’t work out for us but they are always determined to do well.
“We went to Serbia and got the result in the play-off to take us to our first major finals in such a long time. We had the European Championship and took it to the last game and just came up short.
“We then had a really good group campaign in the World Cup and came up just short in the play-off.
“I asked the players before the game, we have done it again, we have taken this campaign to the last game. Let’s make the next step so we can show everyone how we are improving. I said let’s make sure we take the next step. Then we will feel good about ourselves.
“The supporters were magnificent, the connection between the supporters and players is fantastic. That’s what we are working towards.
“Now we have reached pot two and in the A group of the Nations League. We don’t want to stop, we want to keep on getting better and better if we can.”
