Head coach Steve Clarke says the 1-0 defeat in Slovakia that ended Scotland’s nine-game unbeaten run was “not a backward step”.
Scotland remain top of Nations League Group B2 before Wednesday’s final game in Israel.
Clarke suggested the eight changes made from the side that beat Serbia to qualify for the Euro 2020 finals on Thursday had to be taken into account.
“It’s disappointing when your unbeaten run comes to an end,” he said.
“But there’s a way for it to come to an end and I thought the performance was good.”
A first-half strike from Jan Gregus hit Kenny McLean before beating Craig Gordon to secure Slovakia’s first group win and inflict Scotland’s first defeat.
Scotland had chances of their own and substitute Leigh Griffiths was denied in the final seconds by a fine save from goalkeeper Marek Rodak.
“We got luck on our side for the last few games and maybe it wasn’t quite on our side today,” Clarke told BBC Scotland. “We were a bit wasteful. We had decent chances and definitely deserved something.
“I think a lot of people would have put money on Leigh scoring with the last kick of the ball. It was a good strike, did everything right and it was a fantastic save from their goalkeeper – all credit to him.”
Clarke remains confident that his side can win the group and promotion to League A following Wednesday’s final round of fixtures.
“I’ve always said to the players that the three-game window is very intense and you need almost all your players,” he added. “I thought it took us 15-20 minutes to get a foothold in the game and that can come from so many changes.
“But this Nations League section is still in front of us. We go away, regroup and hopefully our next unbeaten run starts on Wednesday.”
