Steve Clarke insists Scotland want to end their World Cup qualifying campaign on a high by taking something from the game against Denmark.
The 2-0 victory over Moldova on Friday night was Scotland’s fifth in a row and guaranteed them a play-off place.
However, any point gained against the Danes at Hampden Park could prove crucial in the hope of being a seed and getting a home tie in the play-offs.
Goals from Nathan Patterson and Ché Adams secured the win on an impressive night’s work in Chisinau, which is a sign of the progress this group of players continue to make under Clarke.
However, their work is not totally done.
Clarke said: “It’s a measure of a good group of players who’ve worked really hard. They’re desperate to get to another tournament.
“Back in March we were 12 games away from Qatar, now we’re two games away. That’s a measure of improvement but we don’t get over-excited.
“It’s nice to be in the play-offs but we want to get through the play-offs and get to Qatar. Ultimately that’s the aim. The players have been fantastic in this campaign.
“It was important when we went to Serbia, it was our ninth game unbeaten. We’re on a similar run and Monday night’s game becomes particularly important, as one or three points out of the game should secure a seeding for us.
“It won’t make the play-offs easy but it would give us a home game in the first round at Hampden, which would be nice.
“We want to finish this campaign well so all focus is on Monday night.”
Scotland lost 2-0 to Denmark in September but Kasper Hjulmand’s side have swept Group F, with their place in Qatar already secured.
“It’s important for the two reasons I’ve mentioned. We want to secure a seeding for the play-off, which would be nice.
“It wouldn’t be a disaster if we didn’t get it as you’re still going to have to deal with two difficult matches if you get it or not.
“Also we want to finish the campaign on a high in front of a full house at Hampden against a very good Denmark team.
Clarke will have to do without the suspended Patterson, who was one of six players who started the night on a yellow card.
Ryan Christie and Lyndon Dykes will return from bans but Andy Robertson, Jack Hendry, John McGinn, Billy Gilmour and Adams are all a booking away from missing a play-off game.
Clarke added: “It’s just one of those things that’s part and parcel of the process of getting there. I thought long and hard about it; we could have spoke about getting a few players booked and then they’d missed the game against Denmark on Monday.
“We probably need to get something from the game on Monday to get that seeding. We also went to keep that momentum going.
“It’s difficult to win five matches in a row at any level, We want to make sure we put on a good show on Monday night and get something from that, so that we go into March in a good frame of mind.”
