'We know...': Scotland starlet delivers confident warning to World Cup rivals amid 'disappointed' admission

Goals from Che Adams and Scott McTominay sealed the win for Scotland in Glasgow, though the national side were far from their best, allowing Belarus a total of 21 shots at goal, while they had to survive a late scare when Gleb Kuchko halved the deficit late in second-half injury time.

Clarke’s side stuck to their task, though, and ground out the victory at Hampden, which, coupled with Denmark’s 3-1 victory over Greece in the Group’s other game, sealed at least a place in the second round playoffs with two games still to play.

Fresh off the back of a dramatic 3-1 comeback win over Greece last Thursday, the national team was greeted with a smattering of boos at the full-time whistle, with a section of the home support frustrated at Scotland’s lacklustre performance against a team ranked 57 places below them in the FIFA World Rankings.

“A win is a win,” admitted Gannon-Doak. “We know we can be at a much higher level than that, but the positive we can take from these two games is that we can not play well and win. That is the sign of a good team. Hopefully, we can improve next month and take the six points we need to get to the World Cup. But I think we can take a bit of encouragement from these six points we got from this month as well.”

The 19-year-old, who signed for Bournemouth in a £25million deal from Liverpool in the summer, was one of Scotland’s brighter performers against Belarus, showing his eye-catching skillset on the wing. However, in the aftermath of the clash, the teenager admitted he was frustrated.

“I'm a bit disappointed in not contributing to a goal or an assist,” said the ex-Celtic academy product. “Maybe putting the game to bed a bit earlier. But listen, we learn from these things and go again. He [Clarke] told me to just do the things I'm good at. That's my game.”

Still within a chance of securing automatic qualification to next summer’s World Cup, Scotland will prepare for a mammoth clash against Greece in Piraeus next month, before welcoming Denmark to Hampden. Currently level on points with Group C leaders Denmark, their clash with Brian Riemer’s side on November 18 is likely to prove crucial in Scotland’s quest to end their nearly three-decade exile from the World Cup.

“We always believe,” said Gannon-Doak. “It doesn't matter which way the game is going, we saw that the other night [vs Greece] and tonight [against Belarus]. Obviously not at our best, but we can still score goals and cause problems. We can take this back to our clubs and use it as fuel to work hard to improve, come back into the next camp stronger and in a better place. I fully believe we can go and get two wins next month.”

Sign up to The Scotsman’s daily football newsletter to get unrivalled Scottish football news and analysis - subscribe for free here.