Steve Clarke left with Scotland 'head scratcher' as he lifts lid on Ben Gannon-Doak exchange

The manager branded the display “a head scratcher”, but the three points are ultimately crucial in keeping Scotland in the hunt to reach North America. Denmark’s 3-1 win over Greece a few hours later means the Scots cannot finish any lower than second in Group C.

Clarke stressed he wasn’t even thinking about the chance Denmark had to knock Greece out of the qualifying equation, which they later took. It means Scotland and Denmark are now fighting it out for automatic qualification. Both know they have a play-off place guaranteed with the Greeks now out of contention.

It still isn't likely to have improved Clarke’s mood after he watched his side toil against Belarus, who are ranked 100 in the world.

The manager made the startling observation that he can’t be confident Scotland would have recovered to win had Belarus’ equaliser been allowed to stand after 62 minutes. The goal was chopped off after a VAR check for a foul on Scott McTominay earlier in the move near the halfway line.

“Could Belarus have got something out of this game? Absolutely,” Clarke admitted. “If they get the goal 1-1 and it stands - it was a foul - then I’m not sure we could have got back in front.”

Clarke had already made clear how dismayed he was by his side’s performance, which even prompted jeers from the crowd at the end. A goal after 15 minutes from Che Adams, which was the subject of a VAR check for offside, was allowed to stand and seemed to have the hosts well set for a comfortable win, perhaps by the few goals desired given Denmark’s markedly better goal difference.

But events unfolded very differently. Scotland were ultimately grateful for a second goal six minutes before the end from McTominay. Belarus pulled one back in time added on through substitute Gleb Kuchko and there were some nervy moments thereafter. The Scots saw out victory as Clarke edged ahead of Craig Brown at the top of the most-games-managed list for Scotland, not that he was giving this much thought afterwards.

“I’m really disappointed - really, really disappointed,” he said. “It’s possibly as disappointed as I’ve been over the whole 72 games. We just didn’t turn up. But before I go down that route, and you start asking me questions about why I’m feeling like that, it’s also to point out that performances don’t get you qualification. And tonight was certainly not a performance.

“But we got three points and that’s six points from the double header so we’re really pleased about that, as everyone with a Scottish connection will be. But the performance was way below par. It’s a head scratcher.”

On the booing at the end, Clarke simply described it as a product of the modern game. “Everything now is instant,” he said. “Everyone has an opinion in the first minute of the game, the 10th minute of the game, the 20th.

“Everyone has a different opinion depending on how the game flows. If the fans were disappointed with the performance tonight, they should take a little comfort in the fact the head coach was also disappointed.”

He admitted the players hadn’t done enough to lift the crowd. Clarke made five changes to the side that beat Greece 3-1 on Thursday, including replacing both centre halves – Scott McKenna and Jack Hendry came in for John Souttar and Grant Hanley – and bringing in Billy Gilmour, surprisingly left out against the Greeks. He retained faith in Ben Gannon-Doak and the 19-year-old winger endured another night where not everything came off for him. Clarke made a beeline towards him as the players came off the pitch at half time.

“I was speaking to Ben about his final ball and pass selection,” he explained. “He got into some really good positions on the pitch but he didn’t get the last little bit that could have maybe helped us to get an earlier second goal.

“For Ben, it’s a process. He’s a young player who doesn’t play that often at his club and he hasn’t had a lot of football at this level. He has to learn and understand the game. In the key moments, when he wriggles free and has pace to get in behind defences, he has to pick out the last pass.”

Clarke dismissed nerves was a factor in the team’s display. Scotland knew they couldn’t slip up and few expected them to against a side who have conceded six goals to Denmark and five against Greece. “They can’t be nervous,” he said. "Why would they be nervous? Most of them have played in big games before.

“I don’t think you can blame nerves. If it’s nerves, I think I’ll need to speak to the doctor and see if he can find me some tablets to give them.

“I’m obviously happy with ten points and confident my players will be much better next month. We’ll also have a better idea what we have to do in those last two games by then. We’ll be ready.”

Scotland need at least a draw in Piraeus against Greece to ensure automatic qualification is still in their own hands in the final game against Denmark at Hampden, barring an unlikely result for Belarus in Copenhagen.