Scotland manager Steve Clarke insists the focus should be on World Cup qualification has he prepares for what will be a personal landmark against Belarus on Sunday.
Clarke will take charge of the national team for the 72nd time and, in doing so, surpass Craig Brown as Scotland’s longest-serving manager in terms of matches.
Scotland are currently unbeaten after three qualifying games and sit level on points with group leaders Denmark after coming from behind to beat Greece 3-1 on Thursday.
Securing either an automatic or play-off place therefore remains a realistic aim for Scotland, who will be hoping to end a 28-year absence from the World Cup finals.
And Clarke insists that will very much be the focus of their preparation ahead of the visit of Belarus to Hampden Park.
Reflecting on his longevity, Clarke said: “I’d be a bit daft if I wasn’t proud because I’m the first guy to reach that amount of games.
“It’s nice, but that’s a little personal thing at the moment. It shouldn’t be about me. It’s about the team and it’s about trying to get to the World Cup so that’s what we’re going to focus on.
“The brief was to qualify for tournaments. We’ve managed to do that twice, but we want to do it again because we’re all greedy. The expectation was to do as well as I could. I’ve always looked at the players and you’re thinking: ‘What can we do to improve?’ Did I think it would last this long? Probably not, but here I am.”
Victory over Belarus, coupled with a Greece defeat in Copenhagen, would guarantee at least a play-off place for Scotland, however, Clarke will be without Lewis Ferguson and Ryan Christie, who both scored on Thursday but are now suspended.
Aaron Hickey, who hobbled off in the game, is also a doubt.
And Clarke recognises the challenge facing his players, but believes similar occasions during his time in charge have given him reason for optimism.
“In my tenure, we’ve done well against the so-called lesser teams in the groups and it’s very important you get the points off these teams,” Clarke said.
“It’s very important we get the points off Belarus. They’ll come here, they’ll be organised, they’ll be difficult to break down and until you break them down it’s a long night.
“They’ll make it difficult but it’s up to us to make sure that we approach the game properly, which we will. It’s up to us to make sure that we create enough chances in the game to get the crowd excited, which we hopefully will.
“The crowd need to back the players, the players need to give the crowd something to shout about and that’s what we’ll try to achieve.”
Scotland take on Belarus at Hampden Park on Sunday, with the game kicking off at 17:00 UK time.
