The midfielder, 29, had been desperate to open his account for the national team and eventually broke his duck with a superb strike to help seal Saturday's crucial 3-1 win at Hampden.

The goal marked McCulloch's 14th appearance for Scotland and he admitted it was a relief to finally get off the mark.

"It was long overdue," he told PA Sport. "I had put a bit of pressure on myself to get goals but I've not really had many chances so to see that one going in was a special feeling.

"That is the first goal out of the way now so I hope there will be plenty more to come and that they will come thick and fast."

However, McCulloch will be denied the opportunity to add to his tally against Georgia on Wednesday night.

A yellow card for questioning Dutch referee Pieter Vink's decision not to award a penalty against Ukraine rules him out of the trip to Tbilisi, along with Garry O'Connor, who was also cautioned on Saturday.

"I'm gutted to be honest," said McCulloch. "All I did was ask the referee why it wasn't a penalty and he booked me. There is nothing I can do about it now.

"I just hope the boys come through on Wednesday night.

"I don't know yet if I will still travel with the boys. I'll need to speak to the manager first. If not, I'll definitely be watching the game.

"We can get the three points but it's not going to easy. As long as we don't get beat, it sets us up for a big game against Italy."

Four points from those remaining two games against Georgia and Italy would guarantee qualification for Euro 2008 for a nation who were give no hope of progressing from the so-called 'Group of Death', which also includes heavyweights Italy and France.

"Of course we can do it but it won't be easy," said McCulloch. "As long as everybody is supporting us and gets behind us then you never know what can happen."

Reflecting on the events at Hampden at the weekend - where goals from Kenny Miller, McCulloch and James McFadden secured the win despite an Andriy Shevchenko strike - the Rangers star said: "We were expected to win because of the recent results we have had, especially against France, but it was great to send the crowd home happy and get the three points.

"The crowd was brilliant, it was a great atmosphere and the home games are always good.

"There was loads of hype all week leading up to the game so it was good to get the result against a world-class team."