At the end of a 0-0 Nations League draw in Ljubljana, Scotland fans were never likely to be shouting from the rooftops.
Despite pummelling Slovenia in a dominant second half, there was no late winner to hand Sebastien Pocognoli a triumphant start as head coach.
On paper, it may have looked like just another stodgy stalemate, one which offered little improvement from the Steve Clarke regime.
Another 90 minutes of toil against limited opposition that left the Tartan Army wondering what the point of it all had been.
Yet, despite the absence of any goals, what the supporters did have was hope. A lot of hope and encouragement.
This was different. Profoundly different, actually, in terms of what Scotland produced in that second half yesterday afternoon.
Scotland striker Oli McBurnie is denied by Slovenia goalkeeper Jan Oblak in a goalless draw
Billy Gilmour’s display against Slovenia showed how badly he was missed at the World Cup
Swansea City centre-half Stephen Welsh produced a solid performance on his Scotland debut
Once Pocognoli had tweaked the formation to get Billy Gilmour on the ball more and told his players to press higher up the pitch, Scotland were vastly improved.
For the first time in a long time, they actually looked comfortable in their own skin.
They looked like a team that wanted the ball, that looked dangerous, that created chances, that played with a purpose that had been sorely lacking in the World Cup.
What we saw in the second half was the first proper glimpse of what the new Belgian head coach might bring in the long term.
The opening 45 minutes were messy, as new ideas often are. It was an eyesore, with the only flicker of life coming when a shot from Robbie Ure struck the post.
Players looked ill at ease in trying to adjust to a more aggressive 3-4-1-2 shape, Slovenia’s formation caused confusion, and the Scots had to ‘suffer together’ as Pocognoli put it afterwards.
Fair enough. New managers are allowed some grace and a bedding-in period. What mattered was the response. An ability to make positive mid-game tweaks is what good coaches do.
After the break, Scotland pushed higher, the ball was moved with greater speed and intent, and suddenly the visitors were the ones asking all the questions.
Jan Oblak, the Atletico Madrid veteran who is still one of the best keepers in Europe on his day, had to be at his absolute best to keep them out.
Oli McBurnie wasted a brilliant chance when he was clean through one-on-one. After a lovely, incisive through ball from Gilmour, substitute Kieron Bowie fired wide when he ought to have scored.
Oblak made another excellent save to keep out a McBurnie header from point-blank range, whilst Aaron Hickey also glanced one just wide.
The chances were plentiful. Scotland were utterly dominant. Entertaining, even. For once, watching the national team did not feel like an act of masochism.
Central to that improved performance was the strike pairing of McBurnie and Ure. Two men who had been out of the international picture, thrown together by a new coach willing to look beyond the usual suspects.
McBurnie, back after five years in the wilderness, offered the physical presence and hold-up play that Scotland have lacked at times.
Ure, the 22-year-old Sevilla striker on his debut, showed sharp movement and a willingness to run in behind.
They linked, they pressed, they occupied defenders. Neither scored, and both will be kicking themselves for the opportunities that went begging but the partnership showed promise.
In the second half, there was a coherence up top that has been absent for too long. Stick with it. Give it time.
Bowie also made a positive impact when he came on. Although none of them scored, the three strikers did not play poorly by any means.
In the end, Gilmour was the best player on the pitch. How Scotland missed the little maestro in the World Cup.
Given the scale of the changes made by Pocognoli and the amount of new faces in the squad, it almost felt like Gilmour had been forgotten about coming into this camp.
Fit again after cruelly suffering an injury on the eve of the World Cup back in the summer, Gilmour returned to Scotland’s midfield and demonstrated why he really ought to be the first name on the team-sheet.
Scotland simply don’t have any other technicians who can control a game in the same manner as the little Napoli midfielder.
There was, at times, a reluctance from Clarke to play Gilmour in the big games against tougher opposition when Scotland maybe wouldn’t see as much of the ball.
But listening to how Pocognoli spoke about Gilmour yesterday, it already feels like he will be the player around whom the midfield is built. And rightly so.
Stephen Welsh was another who enjoyed a solid day’s work, marking his Scotland debut with a clean sheet.
Playing on the left of a back three, Welsh recovered from a shaky start and barely put a foot wrong thereafter.
Penny for Celtic’s thoughts. Whilst on loan from Celtic at Motherwell last season, Welsh was probably the best Scottish centre-back in the Premiership.
For reasons best known to themselves, Celtic put Dane Murray ahead of him in the pecking order, before Welsh then left to join Swansea City this summer on a free transfer.
The decision not to keep Welsh and give him more game time was undeniably a mistake by Celtic. If he were still at Parkhead, he would be the best centre-back at the club on current form.
But that’s by the by. For Scotland and Pocognoli, the reception they got from supporters at full-time was positive. The whole thing felt fresh and encouraging.
None of this is to pretend that everything went seamlessly to plan. Plainly, it didn’t. With a new head coach trying to fundamentally change the team’s style of play, this was never going to be a quick fix.
It was never going to be perfection right from the start. There are still a lot of issues Pocognoli must try and rectify.
Finishing remains a real problem. For all that Oblak was in top form, Scotland should have scored. A good team with a clinical edge would have won this game by two or three goals.
Indeed, that might be the best gauge of the progress made by Scotland over this international window.
They face Slovenia again at Hampden next week, with games against Switzerland and North Macedonia in the intervening period.
Switzerland will undoubtedly be a far stiffer test at Hampden on Tuesday night. Only a couple of months ago, they came within a whisker of beating Argentina to reach a World Cup semi-final.
But if Pocognoli’s team can go to North Macedonia and win, before then finishing with a flourish against Slovenia at Hampden next week, that would signal progress and a positive first camp.
The second half in Ljubljana was entertaining. It is to be hoped that more of these days will follow.
The foundation is there. A head coach prepared to demand more from his players in possession and capable of changing the flow of things with in-game tactical tweaks.
A midfield with Gilmour as its heartbeat. A front line that looks capable of linking and threatening opponents.
A 0-0 draw is still a 0-0 draw. No one is getting carried away. But for the first time in ages, it felt like some genuine positivity was brewing.
