SCOTLAND DON'T LIKE FUN DAYS

It's a Sunday slog for Clarke's strugglers but national boss won't care and why should he?

- BY KEITH JACKSON

QUIETLY GETTING THE JOB DONE Clarke, right, sees Adams open the scoring on a frustrating evening at Hampden.

WE'LL laugh about it one day. This road trip for the ages ought to be as much fun as it's possible for Scotland's supporters to have with their kilts still on.

And yet somehow it’s turning into something of an ordeal.

It's all so typically Scottish and it's being carried out in the dour image of a manager who will certainly not apologise for it. And nor should he.

But if there was ever a man whose team could take all the excitement and enjoyment out of the prospect of qualifying for a first World Cup in almost 30 years then it is surely Steve Clarke.

He may have been made for this very moment. Who cares though?

It matters not a jot that Hampden Park huffed and puffed and winced its way through another 90 minutes yesterday evening as Clarke and his players turned the beating of Belarus into an agonising slog.

They made this 2-1 win look like hard work. And it wasn't any easier for the supporters who had turned up expecting a thrill ride after the late adrenalin surge of Thursday night's comeback win over Greece.

Many aspects of the performance may have scared the life out of them. Yet here we are, coming out of a doubleheader with 10 points from 12 in the bag and a ticket to the big one almost within touching distance, even if you couldn't tell from the manager's hangdog, stoney-eyed expression.