Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn scored a hat-trick as Scotland trounced San Marino 6-0 on Sunday.
McGinn scored all three goals before the half-time whistle as the Tartan Army swept aside the world's lowest ranked team.
Lawrence Shankland scored his first international goal after 65 minutes, with Stuart Findlay and Stuart Armstrong rounding out the victory.
"It's not often a Scotland team score six goals," Clarke told Sky Sports. "It's a nice reward at the end of a difficult week.
"They've got character and resilience. They were on a hiding to nothing tonight. They showed the character to come back from a bad blow.
"We're working towards an end target, which is the play-offs in March. We go to Cyprus one point behind with a chance to go above them."
