Clarke has silenced all his critics — he can have Scotland job for as long as he likes

THE conflicting emotions stirred by a goalless draw in Krakow were painted all over the faces of the two managers.

Ukraine’s Oleksandr Petrakov finished the game spitting mad. Asked in the post-match press conference if his contract would be renewed — it lapsed hours before kick-off — the veteran coach replied with a terse: ‘No comment.’

‘Everyone wants me to go,’ he added in a whispered voice, before finishing with a bizarre fake spitting motion. Press officer Alexander Glyvinsky copped the manager’s wrath in the corridor for allowing the question to be asked in the first place.

Contracts were also on the mind of opposite number Steve Clarke. The next Nations League in 2024 will see Scotland compete in Group A alongside the likes of Italy, Germany and the Netherlands. Clarke was joking — possibly — when he reminded his SFA paymasters that his own deal expires in two years’ time.

The Ayrshireman should have no worries on that score. When the time comes to talk, the events of the last week mean he can pretty much name his terms. So long as he wants it, the job is his.

His future felt less certain after a woeful 3-0 defeat to the Republic of Ireland in June. That setback came a week after a World Cup play-off defeat to Ukraine which, in hindsight, owed much to a far bigger global crisis.

‘If you go back to June, some people wanted me out the door,’ reflected Clarke after Tuesday’s game. ‘Things can change quickly in football.’

How quickly was evident in the Cracovia Stadium where the 59year-old cut a very different figure to the man straining to explain a dismal performance in Dublin.

Leaving Krakow yesterday, a former team-mate of Clarke’s offered the observation in conversation that he had never seen his old colleague look as happy as he did after the match in Poland.

The prize for defying injuries, suspensions and an illness outbreak amongst his squad this week will surely be the new contract he joked about.

Of course, it also meant a place amongst the Nations League elite in 2024, a Pot-Two seeding in next Friday’s draw for Euro 2024 and the security of a qualification play-off (just in case the Scots don’t make it automatically). It’s a measure of the progress made in the last week that Clarke confidently expects these players to reach Germany without cashing in their insurance policy.

‘This has been a good week,’ he admitted. ‘It’s about trying to make ourselves better to move things forward again.

‘Instead of taking a step forward this week, we’ve taken a giant leap. We’ve found another way to play, we’ve found other players in the squad who can do very, very well for us. The squad is stronger.’

Strong in midfield, Scotland’s fatal flaw used to be a dire lack of options in other key areas of the team.

Before the Euro 2020 finals, Stephen O’Donnell of Motherwell was the only real option at rightback. In the course of the last year, Nathan Patterson has signed for Everton in a move valued at £16million and established himself as a regular starter in the English Premier League. Aaron Hickey has also joined Brentford in an £18m deal and, suddenly, the Kieran Tierney versus Andy Robertson debate is old hat.

It’s not just full-back. Go through the team and Clarke’s Scotland are stronger than they used to be.

In central defence, Grant Hanley, Jack Hendry, Scott McKenna and Tierney offer reliable options. While Ryan Porteous of Hibernian is regarded by many as a loose cannon, a stunning international debut against Ukraine on Tuesday provided further proof that there is a player in there if he can curb some of his impetuous instincts.

Meanwhile, the absence of captain and Champions League winner Robertson at left-back barely registered. When Tierney succumbed to concussion protocols in the Ireland game, Celtic’s Greg Taylor proved himself a decent alternative.

In attack, the unselfish hold-up play of Che Adams shows why the Southampton striker has been an outstanding piece of recruitment, and the same can be said of Lyndon Dykes.

Goalkeeper — where Craig Gordon is now 39 — is the one area of concern, with understudies Liam Kelly and Robby McCrorie lacking in big-match experience.

Otherwise, all departments are looking good, as Clarke acknowledged when he said: ‘If we are going to places like the other night, when you are looking to get a result that takes us to that next step, then we know we have a team that can do it.’

A reluctant conscript at first, Adams probably held off in the hope of attracting a call from England. In an ironic twist, the striker can now expect to lead the Scotland line in Nations League Group A while the land of his birth are slumming it a level below.

The Tartan Army were never likely to turn down a chance to gloat, the 3,000 fans who travelled to Poland taunting their southern neighbours with a chorus of ‘Football’s coming home’ in Krakow. When the glee dies down, what’s left is a lingering regret that the two nations won’t mark the 150th anniversary of the world’s oldest international fixture by going head-to-head in Qatar in November.

A grandfather to English kids, Clarke has no interest in rattling cages. ‘I don’t think we’ve got anything over England,’ he said. ‘They weren’t involved in this process. We’ll enjoy it for ourselves.’

When UEFA introduced the Nations League, fans — and journalists — wondered what new form of hell European football’s governing body had unleashed. On reflection, it feels like a rare flash of inspiration.

International football used to be a turgid, uninteresting round of pointless friendlies. The Nations League has introduced competitive and interesting games.

And, while the cut-throat nature of the competition might be bad for the job prospects of managers like Gareth Southgate and Petrakov, Scotland have benefitted more than most from its introduction with two promotions, two play-offs, and qualification for Euro 2020.

Just how beneficial promotion to Group A might be remains to be seen. While a potless SFA will rub their hands at the prospect of Hampden sell-outs, Italy and the Netherlands represent a sharp step-up in level from Armenia and the Republic of Ireland.

‘It’s tough,’ acknowledged Clarke. ‘It’s certainly not going to be easy. You see Wales, they went up and they’ve come back again.

‘But, if you want to improve, you want to play against the better teams. We’re going to be challenged six times in that tournament, that’s for sure.

‘These players have come away from this tournament as better players and they will come away from the next one even better again.

‘The young guys will be getting more experience playing against top teams.

‘The games (in 2024) are a way off. My immediate thoughts are to catch up with some sleep as

it’s been a tough ten days.’