Steve Clarke admitted he hadn’t a clue where he was going when he sparked wild celebrations at Hampden.
But the Scotland boss now knows his side are well on the road to Qatar after the thrilling last gasp win against Israel.
Scott McTominay pounced in stoppage time to see off Israel 3-2 on an incredible night on Mount Florida – which leaves the Scots needing just wins against the Faroe Islands and Moldova to nail down a World Cup play-off spot.
Clarke could barely catch his breath after a bonkers night which saw his side twice come back from behind with Lyndon Dykes notching after missing a penalty before McTominay bundled the ball in at the death.
The winner raised the Hampden roof – and sent the manager sprinting off down the touchline.
Clarke said: “I managed to run so far and then I thought ‘where the f*** are you going?!’
“Then I just wandered back into the technical area!
“It’s important for the players to feel that love coming off the terraces.
“I keep saying, this group of players, every time we get together, every time we got to the pitch, they want to be successful for their country – and they showed that in the second half.”
Clarke hailed his Hampden heroes for refusing to give up on the fight to get to Qatar despite suffering several setbacks on the way.
The manager said: “The Braveheart stuff is a cliche, but what it shows is this group of players want to do well for their country.
“It would have been easy for them to feel sorry for themselves at half-time. It would have been easy for them to think it wasn’t going to be their night.
“But they refused to accept it. They didn’t accept it.
“In the context of the group, a big three points. It puts us in control of the position.
“But you’ve got to put the lid on it because it’s only three points and we need three more on Tuesday against the Faroes. That’s the next target, another cup final.”
Scotland could have done with VAR stepping in for Israel’s second goal when an arm was used – but the video ref did have a hand in the leveller after Dykes’s effort was initially ruled out for a high boot.
Clarke said: “It was always going to be crucial.
“I don’t know if we’ll ever see that again. It was always going to be crucial and VAR’s been kind to us.
“When he disallows the goal I become a little bit nervous. The guys in the technical area are telling me it was a clean contact.
“I’m praying that the referee goes and has a look – which he does.
“Listen, it’s a clean goal, fantastic for Dykesy to get after missing the penalty.
“I didn’t say too much to Lyndon at half-time. He scored a big penalty in Austria for us, which was a big goal.
“He didn’t get this one but I actually said to the lads, it’s down to you on the pitch to make it a better night for Lyndon.
“I never doubt Lyndon. His qualities, his desire, his character - and you saw that for the second goal.
“The lad tried to con the referee a little bit but VAR spoke in our favour again, which is fortunate.
“Lyndon’s character showed, I think, in the second half, how good he is for us. Good for him to get the goal and we just kept plugging away.
“And then at 90 minutes, six minutes goes up and the crowd give that roar. I don’t know if it spooked Israel.
“But, it certainly seemed to give us an extra bit of impetus and we get the winner and it turns out to be a great night.
“You see what it means for the supporters at the end of the night which was great for us.”
Clarke admitted Scotland made it hard for themselves at times but it took guts to pull the result out the bag.
He said: “To suffer two blows like that in 45 minutes is difficult to recover from.
“It showed a bit of character and we got the break with the penalty on half time. But then we miss!
“At half-time you are having to pick them up. I said to them, if you want to lose a game you are going about it in perfect fashion by conceding two goals and missing a penalty.
“We weren’t playing to our potential, playing the way we can play. They were playing as they could but we didn’t.
“That was the message at half-time – play it at our tempo, the way we want to play.
“The second half was a different story.”
