'MON then.

It is a phrase of Scottish origin not yet defined in the Oxford English dictionary, but which holds a meaning that is still easy enough to discern. The challenge was delivered by a Scotland national team which rediscovered its gallus intent as it gave the World Cup qualifying campaign a Glesga kiss goodbye at Hampden on Tuesday night; Robert Snodgrass and Steven Naismith applying further blows to the napper of a Croatia team whose manager surrendered his position before boarding the flight home.

A victory in the final qualifier against a side now picking irritably at a play-off spot was a hollow one, although it would still seem to echo around the national stadium in defiance of a fourth-place finish in Group A. The nine points drummed out of the final four qualifying ties -six of them coming as Scotland established a rhythm against the Croats - was not enough to salvage a campaign which had been sunk before Gordon Strachan took charge in January, but his players remained inclined to puff out their chests and agitate menacingly in the direction of the next one. The Euro 2016 qualifiers have just been invited to a square go.

It will be some time before the challenge is answered, since the draw for that campaign will not be made until February 23, by which time Scotland will have taken on the United States in a friendly. There should be caution shown to avoid becoming haughty following relative success in matches which carried little competitive meaning, yet performances against England, Macedonia and Croatia have at least witnessed a squad now capable of handling themselves. The group retains a vulnerability to injuries and suspension - particularly in defence - but there is nonetheless a growing maturity in this side and which has been manifest in Scott Brown.

"In the last four games since the manager has come in, it's been ridiculous how much we have improved," said the Scotland captain and a midfielder of dependable authority under Strachan. "We have restored some pride. Everybody was putting us down at the start of the campaign. We went out to play football [on Tuesday night], enjoyed it and came away with a result against a team in the world's top 10. That shows we are moving in the right direction."

Reflecting on a capacity to move forward gains greater significance if it is done while glancing in the rear-view mirror. Strachan inherited a squad which had developed an unhealthy pallor, having nibbled just two points from the opening six qualifiers, but his appointment as manager has proven to be a warming remedy to those bleak months under Craig Levein. The former Scotland manager's reign ended with 4-6-0 as its epitaph; a formation which, although it was not reprised during the last campaign, became a standard to the caution he exercised.

The national team has since been granted greater freedom in a 4-2-3-1 formation - with Ikechi Anya, Robert Snodgrass and Barry Bannan each revelling in their roles against Croatia. Fans have become similarly less constrained in their support. "[Strachan] has given the lads a real freedom to play," acknowledged Russell Martin, the Scotland defender. "He has given us a platform and he is really detailed when explaining about the shape. Now there is a real expectation and belief that we are capable of getting results; I think that has come through from the gaffer and his staff.

"Every manager has his own ideas. I really liked Craig; he brought me into the squad and gave me the chance. But sometimes just a change of scene and change of staff freshens things. Maybe before we had been on the back of a few poor results, and a couple at home, and so confidence was eroding slowly. It was hard to get out of that rut, regardless of the staff."

Scotland will contend that they have now clambered back out of it and are dusting themselves down in preparation for taking the first steps on the road to France and the finals in 2016. "We have a lot of belief and we are gutted the campaign is coming to an end now," added Brown. "But we are looking forward to the next one."

Come ahead, Europe.