Steve Clarke frustrated by Scotland’s flat display despite 2-1 win over Belarus in World Cup qualifier

Scotland head coach Steve Clarke admitted he was left scratching his head by a “really disappointing” showing from his side in the 2-1 win over Belarus.

The victory briefly moved Scotland to the top of their World Cup qualifying group before Denmark defeated Greece to take first spot, and it continued the national team’s unbeaten start to the campaign. However, Scotland failed to dominate play or really impose themselves on opposition who have lost every game so far.

Che Adams and Scott Tominay’s goals meant Hleb Kuchko’s injury-time goal wasn’t costly but Clarke was not impressed by what he saw in a game where he broke the record for number of games in charge of the national side.

“I’m really disappointed – really, really disappointed,” the head coach said. “It’s possibly as disappointed as I’ve been over the whole 72 games. We just didn’t turn up.

“But before I go down that route, and you start asking me questions about why I’m feeling like that, it’s also to point out that performances don’t get you qualification. And tonight was certainly not a performance.

“We got three points and that’s six points from the double-header so we’re really pleased about that, as everyone with a Scottish connection will be. But the performance was way below par.

“It’s a head-scratcher. But I’ll go away, I’ll have a look, and we’ll analyse it. We’ll look at what we have to do better and how we can be more cohesive as a team without the ball and how we have to be better as a team when we have possession.

“I’ve told them that in the dressing room, so they know what my feelings are. But I’ve got a great faith in them and I trust them absolutely. And I know that next month they’ll be a different animal.”

The Tartan Army booed the team at the final whistle to make their feelings known and Clarke had no issue with their verdict.

“That seems to be the way of the modern game,” he said. “Everything now is instant.

“Everyone has an opinion in the first minute of the game, the 10th minute of the game, the 20th. Everyone has a different opinion depending on how the game flows.

“If the fans were disappointed with the performance tonight, they should take a little comfort in the fact the head coach was also disappointed.”