Craig Gordon earns Scotland plaudits from Steve Clarke as he lifts the lid on 'diligent' behind the scenes approach

Steve Clarke watched his side blow a two- goal lead here in Vienna last night – but then insisted Scotland ’s feel-good factor can carry them towards the World Cup.

Clarke insists the loss of two late goals against Austria has not derailed the momentum that has been building spectacularly over the last eight games.

And he insists the fact they remain unbeaten in six months has them riding high going into the end of season play-offs for a place at Qatar 2022.

The national boss said: “This is a difficult place to come to. If you had said before the game we would get two goals and a draw a lot of people would have said that would be okay.

“Don’t forget that I immediately made three substitutions at 2-0 up which lost that little bit of rhythm and continuity.

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“You are allowed to use six subs because it is an international friendly game. And I wanted to use the full complement and wanted to give some players minutes on the pitch.

“It was a good exercise for us so I don’t understand why the feel-good factor would go.

“That’s eight games unbeaten going into a competitive phase in June. We are in a good place, don’t worry about that.

“There is always something you can find in a performance to improve on. Ball