It’s not every day Scotland are booed off after winning a match which puts them to within two games of automatic qualification for a World Cup, but such are the level of expectation set by Clarke’s team.
While the Scots weren’t shooting the lights out in attack, they also allowed Belarus to be comfortable for large parts of the game. The fact they had 10 shots more than Scotland is a huge cause for concern.
“At half-time the manager came in but he was absolutely furious with us,” said defender Scott McKenna.
“We didn’t win any first balls, didn’t win any second balls either. Belarus probably looked more dangerous than us over the 90 minutes.”
Despite the fury, self-reflection and pain, Scotland are still in a strong position. An away game in Athens against a Greece team who can no longer catch them, and then a Hampden showdown against Denmark next month lies in wait.
Everyone from the Scotland camp who spoke acknowledged what they’ve produced over the past week will not get the job done, but there is a belief that they have it in them to find solutions. Somehow.
“We’ve had some great moments, and some quite disappointing moments,” said Clarke. “What we are is quite resilient, we can come back from a down.
“I’m confident in this group of players, that when it comes to the crunch we’ll be ready.”