Sir Kenny Dalglish: Scotland’s win against Spain was simply thrilling – but I couldn’t bear to watch it!

Steve Clarke had every right to stay level-headed after that fantastic win against Spain.

Doing his post-match media duties, he reminded us all that we will not qualify with six points, and that lots more hard work lie ahead.

I get where he was coming from. So let’s see where we are in June when we have finished our next two fixtures – away to Norway and at home to Georgia.

However, as a Scotland fan, I was delighted at taking six points from the opening two fixtures.

At full-time last Tuesday night, I was thinking that we are definitely on our way to Germany in 2024. I’m sure every other Tartan Army fan was the same.

We are allowed to dream, and get carried away. That’s our job! Just as it’s Steve’s job to stay calm and focused.

I’m sure the players enjoyed the night, and soaked in every second of what they achieved.

It’s not every day you get to beat a really good Spain side in front of nearly 50,000 Scotland fans.

They deserved all the accolades, and would have every right to live it up for a wee while.

On the back of the 3-0 win over Cyprus, Scott McTominay quickly got on the scoresheet again.

His late goals against the Cypriots and the early opener against the Spanish meant he got a hat-trick in just 10 minutes!

I planned to watch Tuesday’s game on telly, but was slightly behind schedule getting on to the sofa. News came through on my phone that we were 1-0 up.

Well, I was then too nervous to switch on the TV. I couldn’t watch it live. I just had a wee look at my phone every few minutes.

So I couldn’t have been prouder when the victory was secured. I was delighted for Steve, his staff, the players and the fans.

I watched the game back, and it was a thrilling performance.

Yes, we had a wee bit of luck with the deflection for the opening goal – but so what?

Andy Robertson was brilliant at being involved in the opener, and then you had Kieran Tierney rampaging down the left to help set up the second.

How good was that?

Every player played his part in some shape or form, and the likes of Callum McGregor, John McGinn, Grant Hanley and Ryan Porteous were superb.

The team all defended and attacked very well.

And let’s give credit to Angus Gunn for getting two clean sheets. What a great start to his international career.

To follow in his father’s footsteps and play for his country, how proud his dad, Bryan, must have been. Wonderful.

Now we move on and look towards the next double-header.

I believe in this group of players, and I also think we showed great game-management and maturity against Spain that will stand us in good stead.

We picked the right moments when to “kill” the game, and disrupt the Spaniards. That was clever, and it was also within the laws of the game.

It clearly got under the skin of Rodri, and he made his feelings clear at full-time.

Where his argument fell down was that he couldn’t substantiate his comments. It was poor of him to make up stories.

The Manchester City and Spain midfielder should have been more gracious in defeat.

But we move on from that. It’s in the past, and it’s what happens in the remaining six games that count.

We’ve put ourselves in a wonderful position, but nothing has been achieved yet.

Steve and his staff will make sure the squad are well-prepared, and let’s see where that takes us.

It’s also comforting to know we have Steve in charge until 2026. It was great business by the SFA to get the manager tied down on a new contract.

He has been a very fine Scotland manager, and it’s been a continuation of the great work he did at Kilmarnock for three years.

As I have said many times, Steve knows the game inside out, and he gets players wanting to play for him.

The Tartan Army are right behind him, and there is always a better chance of success when there is unity and a collective spirit, on and off the park.