A late Oliver Burke winner over Cyprus in Clarke's first match in cost set the tone for six years of ups, downs and drama.
There was ache earlier than achieve, with Belgium and Russia shelling out two defeats every to the sorry Scots over the following 4 video games.
At that time, the nation had not featured at a significant match in additional than 20 years.
In case you had supplied any member of the Tartan Military two Euros appearances over the following six years, you'll have been fortunate to nonetheless have a hand.
A shift of form to a again three and a nine-match unbeaten run culminated with Scotland defeating Serbia on penalties in a play-off to safe a spot at Euro 2020.
The Scots didn't progress from their group within the delayed finals, although, and lots of questioned if Clarke had hit his ceiling after defeat by Ukraine within the 2022 World Cup play-offs.
However resilience has been within the Scotland boss' make-up all through his tenure.
A surprising begin to Euro 2024 qualifying, together with a landmark win over Spain, ensured Clarke's males reached the finals with two video games to spare.
Nevertheless, these doubts got here flooding again – and louder than ever earlier than – following a deflating summer time on the pitch in Germany.
Scotland didn't progress from their group once more, however the head coach's cautious method attracted many of the intense criticism.
Clarke vowed to battle on in a bid to succeed in the World Cup subsequent yr, and his squad are in good condition after taking 4 factors from their first two qualifiers, with back-to-back house video games subsequent up.
