New Scotland head coach Sebastien Pocognoli admits to being slightly nervous ahead of his maiden game in charge this weekend.
The Belgian, aged 39, was a shock successor to Steve Clarke. He was appointed last month on a two-year contract. His only previous managerial experiences have been in his homeland with Union SG and then in France with Monaco.
Clarke’s time in the job ended after the World Cup this summer, with the team bowing out at the group stages in what was their first taste of the tournament in 28 years. Clarke spent seven years at the helm and also took the Tartan Army to two European Championships.
New boss Pocognoli – speaking on the eve of his first game, a Nations League trip to Slovenia – has now revealed a brief chat with the man he succeeded saying the pair had “a nice meeting on the phone.”
He added: “He was very kind, very… humble. That was very helpful for me. It just was to let me know that he’s behind the team. He was very happy [in his time in the job] but he also felt that it was the right time [to leave]. He wished me all the best. I will try to be as successful as the previous staff because we want to play in a big tournament. We want to create this moment for the country.”
Saturday’s clash in Ljubljana will represent a big moment for the Belgian and he readily admits that he has been feeling it in the build-up.
“If we talk about nerves, yes, but it’s a positive nervousness,” the new manager told BBC Scotland. “We have a job with responsibility. It’s excitement and I’m just passionate about being on the touchline. It’s a lot of new faces, so it’s a challenge to find the right balance, to keep the cohesion in the team.
“I always think the players select themselves. We have four games, so we need to plan. We need to have a periodisation [managing training loads, games and recovery] about the tactical aspect and the physical aspect.
“This team can be flexible. We’re ready for the four games in terms of what kind of approach we want to give.”
After Saturday, Scotland return to Hampden Park against Switzerland on Tuesday, September 29 before another road trip to Macedonia on Saturday, October 3. They then conclude the glut of fixtures with a home game against Slovenia on Tuesday, October 6.
