Craig Levein reckons Steve Clarke has done a terrific job of "turning the tanker around" with Scotland - after admitting players used to pull out of his squad through embarrassment.
And he's delighted to see the camp happier than it was back when he was in charge.
Levein was one of a host of Scotland managers unable to inspire the country to a major tournament in the 23 years between France '98 and Euro 2020.
Clarke was the man to break the duck and now the monkey is off Scotland's back, they have dreams of following it up with a World Cup return next year.
A win over Israel at Hampden moved them one step closer to that and Levein, speaking on Sportsound, was full of praise for the job Clarke has done.
He said: "He's done an excellent job. The team haven't been successful for a long time.
"It's like turning round a tanker. It doesn't happen immediately.
"He's gaining trust among the players and supporters and his pragmatic nature helps.
"He wants to make sure we're defensively sound first and foremost.
"He can loosen the reins as time goes on if he sees improvement, and we've seen that.
"It's obviously a happy team. It's a real team, and when it's like that everyone turns up"
Host Kenny Macintyre then asked Levein if it was "always like that" - harking back to his tenure when last-minute call-offs were a regular thing.
And the ex-Hearts boss read it as a jibe as he quickly quipped back: "Is that just you having a go at me about my tenure again?"
But he went on to explain that players did in fact pull out of international duty simply because the national side wasn't performing - and it was a sense of "embarassment."
He added: "If you don't get results, there's a sense of embarrassment.
"A lot of the guys in England go into their dressing room down south and get ribbed. You don't want that.
"If the team's doing well then it's a great place to be. If it's not doing quote so well then that's where you start to get more call-offs.
"But let's look at the positives because Steve's got this team rolling."
