Steve Clarke sends an emotive message to the Tartan Army after Scotland reach Euro 2024

Coach reveals the key connection which drove the national team to Germany

Scotland manager Steve Clarke today sent an emotional 'thank you' message to the Tartan Army after qualifying for Euro 2024. Clarke reached out to supporters and praised their substantial backing at home and abroad throughout the campaign, which helped secure a place at next summer's finals in Germany.

Scotland officially qualified on Sunday night when Spain beat Norway 1-0, meaning the Spaniards and Scots are guaranteed to occupy the top two places in Group A which guarantee a place at the European Championship. The two nations are currently joint-top of the section with two matches remaining.

The national team play Georgia in Tbilisi and Norway at Hampden Park next month, whilst Spain visit Cyprus before hosting the Georgians in their final qualifier. The battle is now on to see who can finish first in the section and potentially claim a Pot 1 seeding spot for the Euro 2024 finals draw on December 2 in Hamburg.

Scotland are in Lille at the moment preparing for Tuesday's friendly against France, but Clarke took time out to send an email to members of the Scotland Supporters Club. In it, he spoke warmly of their efforts to follow the side around Europe and attend matches in numbers at Hampden Park.

"I’m writing to you today to simply say: thank you," he wrote. "When I was first appointed as Scotland head coach, I said there were two things I wanted to achieve; to return to major tournaments and to put a smile back on the face of our supporters.

"We’ve certainly achieved the first of those objectives; through the hard-work and commitment of my players and staff we’ve now qualified for our second European Championships in succession. As for the second goal: it has been immensely gratifying to see you in the stands at Hampden and overseas showing your support for the team. Your backing has driven us on to qualification and I hope that the team’s effort during this campaign has given you some memorable moments.

"To witness the connection between the players and you, the supporters, has been something I take great pride in as Scotland manager. Make no mistake, your support has been instrumental to our successes on the pitch – we have achieved qualification together.

"So, once again, thank you for your support. We will continue to work hard in the remainder of this campaign as we begin to set our sights on diligently preparing for Euro 2024. I look forward to seeing many of you in France, Georgia, and back at Hampden as we round off this memorable campaign – and of course, next summer in Germany. Thank you, Steve Clarke."

Clarke is the first man ever to achieve qualification for successive European Championships with Scotland. He guided them to Euro 2020 via a play-off and has followed up with automatic progress to the finals this time. Scotland reached Euro 1992 under Andy Roxburgh and Euro 1996 under Craig Brown, but Clarke is the first to reach back-to-back Euros.

It is also the first time in 25 years Scotland have qualification for a major tournament automatically, the last being World Cup 1998 in France.