Steve Clarke believes his Scotland team has demonstrated the resilience needed to secure a spot in next summer’s World Cup in North America, a feat that would help him overcome his own disappointment of never having played in the tournament.

As a player, Clarke was part of the initial squad for the 1990 World Cup in Italy but did not make the final team, a setback that still stings today.

Looking ahead to their Group C qualifier against Belarus, the 62-year-old manager is optimistic about Scotland’s increasing chances of participating in the world’s premier football event and is pleased with the dedication of his current squad.

When questioned about his confidence in the team’s inner belief and strength to reach the finals, Clarke was unequivocal in his response.

“Absolutely, it’s evident,” he affirmed. “You can see it in their performances. The players are committed to doing whatever it takes to ensure we reach the finals.”

Clarke celebrates as Scotland secure victory over Greece to keep them joint-top of their World Cup qualifying group 

The Scots boss takes training ahead of the upcoming qualifier against Belarus at Hampden 

“While discussing it and achieving it on the field are entirely different challenges, we’ve succeeded in sticking to our plan so far. However, we still face three more crucial steps,” he added.

Quizzed on why making it to the finals means so much to him personally, Clarke replied: ‘I wanted to go as a player! I didn’t manage to achieve it.

‘I got pretty close in 1990 when I got into the pre-World Cup squad. That hurt. Still hurts a little bit now that I haven’t been to a World Cup with my country.

‘I have a chance to do it now. It’s a fantastic group of players. They want to be the first ones since 1998 to take their country to a World Cup and hopefully it marries up together and we can achieve this.’

Clarke will make his own little bit of history today by racking up his 72nd game in charge of the national side and taking over from Craig Brown as the national coach with most matches under his belt. He admits it is a real matter of pride to him.

‘I think I would be a bit daft if I didn’t feel proud because, obviously, I am the first guy to reach that amount of games. That is nice for me,’ he said.

‘That is a little personal thing. At the moment, it shouldn’t be about me, it should be about the team and about trying to get to a World Cup. That is what we are going to focus on.

‘When I started, the brief was to qualify for tournaments and we have managed to do that twice. We want to do that again because we are all greedy.

‘Did I think I would last this long? Probably not.’

Ryan Christie hails his equaliser that brought the Scots level against Greece

Clarke admits it has taken time to settle into the particular discipline of being an international manager and, coming towards the end of his current contract, has reiterated his view that he would like another crack at the club game before he calls it a day.

‘I’ve learnt how to deal with the down time,’ he said. ‘It took me, after the first game, probably 18 months to work out what to do between camps, how much time to spend not looking at the opposition — because, sometimes, you can drive yourself daft watching loads of videos before you actually come to camp.

‘My preparation on that side is better. I deal with that better. I’ve learned how to deal with the stress and the tension — the nonsense that can sometimes come in camp. I’ve learned how to handle that a little bit.

‘You know you’re going to start quite fresh. You know you’re going to be a little bit more tired. I handle that better.

‘I still see myself with a club job in the future. Then, I look at the ages of some of the young coaches and managers and think: “Oh, I hope they don’t think I’m too old for it” – because I’m certainly not.

‘At this moment in time, I’ll just concentrate on what I’m doing here. In the short term we’ve got a big target to try and achieve.’

With Denmark having beaten Belarus 6-0 in midweek and scored five more than Scotland, a resounding win tonight would be useful given the fact goal difference could well come into the mix when it comes to escaping the group as winners.

‘In my time, we have done well against the so-called lesser teams in the group,’ said Clarke. ‘It is very important you get the points off these teams and it is very important we get the points off Belarus.

Clarke was in jovial mood as he prepares to oversee his 72nd match as Scotland boss

‘They will come here and be organised and difficult to break down. Until you break them down, it is a long night. It is up to us to approach the game properly, which we will. It is up to us to make sure that we create enough chances in the game and get the crowd excited, which we hopefully will.

‘Hopefully, on Sunday night, we are sitting smiling and thinking: “Roll on November”. They are two fantastic games to look forward to.

‘If you want to qualify, these are the games you have to win. You have to give yourself a platform to play against the bigger nations.

‘I feel like, over the barren years, those were the games where maybe we messed up against opposition we should be beating.’

Hibs’ Josh Mulligan has been drafted into the squad for the first time along with Rangers midfielder Connor Barron, with Clarke reporting he is optimistic that Aaron Hickey, injured in the victory over Greece, has not suffered any serious damage.