You can say that again, Steve.
The way the night was billed, it was always going to be a forever night. Fortunately, it can be filed on the right side of Scottish history.
Glorious failure is something that has long been woven into the rich tapestry of this country’s footballing past. There were moments at Hampden on Tuesday when it looked like there would be another example.
As captain Andy Robertson admitted after the match, Scott McTominay’s extraordinary opening goal – “the best overhead kick I’ve ever seen in my life,” Clarke said – could have come “about 80 minutes later”.
However, as Scotland’s players battled to take the lead for the second and then third time, the Hampden crowd carried their heroes when they needed them most.
“Right in the last part of the game, the crowd was still with us,” Clarke said. “Everyone was in the stadium, no one came out because they could smell the magic.
“I’ve been saying it for a long time, how good the players are and how determined they are to be good for their country. They showed it tonight. I couldn’t be happier.”
It is a credit to Clarke and his staff that they have assembled a core group of reliable, ready and willing players. Something that some of his predecessors failed to do.
He is now the man who has led Scotland more than anyone else – 74 times and counting. He will also be the first man to lead the country in a third major tournament. And the man who brought together a team that was eliminated by Kazakhstan and qualified them for a World Cup.
Earlier this week, as Scotland took their time preparing for this mammoth double-header, Clarke said his players were presented with “the opportunity to be instantly written into the Scottish history books”.
They have done precisely that. And he has done it too.
