It all looked to be over long ago but Scotland's turnaround in recent games has opened the door to the play-offs and hopes of reaching the World Cup in Russia next summer.

A 2-0 win over Malta has teed up a double-header against Slovakia and Slovenia that will grip the nation and could be a vital step to ending a decade's long exile from major tournaments.

Leigh Griffiths has underlined his status as a key man in dark blue and Gordon Strachan has found a settled team but the fans still could not be lured to Hampden.

We have looked at the main talking points from Hampden after a successful international break drew to a close.

It is less than a year ago that Gordon Strachan's future was in serious doubt after defeat in England.

A draw with Lithuania and 3-0 defeats to Slovakia and the Auld Enemy had made the optimism of the opening day demolition of Malta seem like a distant memory.

Strachan was reportedly required to convince Hampden bosses that the second half of the campaign would bring an upturn in fortunes and going into the final two matches he can say he has delivered on that.

The win against Malta was comfortable, a relative rarity for Scotland, and stretched the unbeaten run to four games to put their Group F destiny in their own hands.

Scotland had a patient approach to what was a must-win game and created a multitude of chances against a team that dug in and set out to make life difficult.

Critics could hope for a better return from 25 attempts on goal but for the majority there is a renewed hope the revamped side can continue in the same vein against tougher opposition and get the goals needed to make the play-offs.

Rarely has a Scotland team sheet provoked so little debate.

After the performance that underpinned the 3-0 win in Lithuania in Vilnius it was no surprise Strachan named an unchanged side and reaped the rewards, even if they did tire at the end of their second 90 minutes in four days.

Only two of Monday night's team started the 3-0 defeat in Slovakia last October and the changes have made for a better collective.

A core of Celtic players have brought club understanding and confidence to the team.

While Christophe Berra and Charlie Mulgrew may not be a central defensive partnership that Europe's elite would envy, they have looked like the best base for the team to be built on.

In a few weeks' time the squad for the crucial double-header will be named and there will be the usual debate about who makes the 20-odd man squad (unless Callum McGregor's form takes a nose-dive) but it seems clear that late in the campaign the manager has found his strongest XI.

If there are changes from Monday's team when Scotland next walk out at Hampden it will be because of injury or a major surprise.

One of the beneficiaries of the new-look side has been Leigh Griffiths, once a peripheral figure in the squad but now a focus point in the team.

Despite being a prolific goalscorer at club level, Griffiths had not been given a sustained run at international football until this campaign.

Always good enough to be in the squad, Griffiths obviously had not persuaded Strachan he should be in the team ahead of Steven Fletcher of Chris Martin.

The Celtic striker has been involved in six of Scotland's last seven goals and firmly established himself as the first choice up front.

Two goals against England, a pair of assists against Lithuania (when he looked unhappy to be subbed off without a goal to his name) and a goal and assist against Malta showed he is more than capable at international level.

Griffiths was not at his best in the Malta match but in addition to pouncing on the opportunity to score the second goal, his set piece delivery was a constant threat.

A perfect corner served up Christophe Berra's opener and the defender, and others, could have further benefited from his precision.

If there was one negative to take away from the fixture, the banks of empty seats at the national stadium would be the starting point for debate.

A must-win World Cup qualifier in a football-obsessed nation should be drawing more than 26,000 spectators and questions should be asked as to why the stadium was half-full.

There are plenty of possible reasons for the stay-aways, from ticket pricing to quality of opposition, timing of the game or a lack of enthusiasm about the modern-day Hampden experience.

Whatever the cause, and it is most likely a combination of many, the Scottish FA really need to study the issue before the next campaign kicks off.

After the final whistle Strachan, Stuart Armstrong and Andrew Robertson all spoke of their hope or expectation that Hampden would be sold-out for the visit of Slovakia on a Thursday night.

The importance of the game means it probably will be but, to ensure that is the norm rather than an exception, questions have to be asked.