The truth about this contest is if it wasn’t a World Cup year the entire thing would be largely irrelevant, but it’s deeply relevant because Scotland are on the clock now.

Time is ticking. Ivory Coast on Tuesday, Curacao on 30 May, a flight to America the next day, a final friendly in New Jersey in early June – and then the big show.

Scotland need momentum, they need to crash rather than limp into the World Cup, they need to hit the ground running. They had, and did, none of these things at the Euros in Germany. The power they had in qualification dissipated during the warm-up games. They arrived at the Euros searching for confidence and failed to find it.

That would have been one of the big takeaways from that tournament – the need to hold on to the energy and feelgood that got them there in the first place.

Scotland still have time to regain it before America. A rousing performance against Ivory Coast – ranked 35 in the world to Scotland’s 40 – in Liverpool and they’ll be where they want to be. After that, Curacao at home. A win against the world number 82 to send them on their way, surely?

Clarke’s team are becoming a bit of an enigma, a curiosity that’s hard to read. The performances rise and fall. It’s hard to get an angle on where they’re at.

Take their games in qualification. Tremendously resilient in Copenhagen in getting a goalless draw in round one, ultra professional in beating Belarus in round two.

Then, a bizarre 3-1 win at home to Greece on a night when the visitors were by far the better side, followed by a 2-1 win against Belarus that led to so many players, and Clarke, expressing disappointment in the most brutal and graphic terms. John McGinn described the pair of victories as “jobby” performances.

Next, to Greece. Losing 3-0 – it could have been been five had it not been for Craig Gordon’s heroics – Scotland rallied and eventually lost 3-2. They were heading for the play-off until Belarus did them the most enormous favour in Copenhagen.

So, a mix of bottle and luck got them to the big showdown against Denmark where sheer class and never-say-die took them the rest of the way. This Scotland team has many faces.

Saturday was a return to their reserved selves when, really, you wanted to see the warriors of November, or at least a version of them. All eyes on Tuesday night, then, and Scotland’s search for the intensity and vitality we know they have.

Clarke has promised six or seven changes. The new blood need to infuse Scotland with some verve. Now is not the time to go into their shell. Against Ivory Coast, they need to come out fighting.