The captain and manager said the same thing after Scotland's performance. John McGinn said that the summer hurt them a lot, while Steve Clarke said that the players suffered more than anyone.
The Nations League game with Ukraine was more than just about moving up in the group. The Scotland side can bounce back, that's what it was about. Did they do that?
Three months on from a World Cup play-off defeat, the Scots turned over the same opposition in stunning fashion, winning by three goals.
In football, sometimes you need to respond, according to the man. We've responded in this way.
In the short time we had, we did a lot of boring work in the lecture room, but they took it all on board. They were very good.
There is an element of tongue-in-cheek when it comes to the line about the Villa captain being better than the Real Madrid player.
The line that comes just before it is 'he's Stevie Clark's man'.
He is one game away from his 500th cap. McGinn didn't score or assist in the first 14 appearances.
The 27 year old has had 20 goal involvements in the 35 games that he has been a part of, which is 12 more than any other player.
McGinn was given the freedom to roam behind Che Adams and score the opening goal as a double pivot in the middle of the park.
He created two clear-cut chances and had six shots, which was more than any other player on the field.
McGinn won 10 of his 14 battles and gained possession back in the final third five times, and that is what makes him so popular with the Scotland support.
McGinn said that they need to be horrible to play against and show desire. We owe a performance like that to the supporters, the manager, and most of all ourselves.
A bold change of system, which paid off, and a much improved all-round showing in comparison to the summer performances stood out.
Scotland's options are still strong despite missing captain Andy Robertson and centre-backs John Souttar and Liam Cooper.
Ryan Fraser made an impression off the bench despite having the hump with the head coach.
The forward has given the Republic of Ireland a decision to make, as he has given Scotland an eight goal tally in 23 caps.
I came on and changed the game, even though I wasn't playing. My goal record for Scotland has been pretty good.
Hours of set-piece drills may have been included in a lot of the boring work. Both the squad and the manager wanted to praise Austin MacPhee, who was the former Hearts coach.
The boys are listening to what the movements should be, and MacPhee has an impact on that.
"I give credit to Austin," he said. Since he's arrived, he's been very good. He told me to go to the front post. I scored two by going front post.
"I want to shout out to Austin," the left-back said. There were a few meetings on that. You don't have a lot of time to work on it, but the preparation he puts into it is great.
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